Life After Death
by Line464d
Summary: What happens after you've died? That's a question which has haunted us for many centuries. Lucy, however, is soon to find out as she tragically passes away during a mission. She finds herself in an entirely new place filled with hostile people of all kinds. What will she experience in the after-life and what kind of people will she meet? Will she ever see Fairy Tail again?
1. Chapter 1 - A Tragic End

**Chapter 1 - A Tragic End**

 **Hi guys~  
I've been thinking about this story for a while, as a matter of fact the idea is even older than that of 'Basket and Stars', the other one was just more.. Attractive to write at that moment. Buuuut~ Now the idea couldn't wait any longer!  
Hope you like it! Or… Well… Probably not this first chapter…**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: If I had actually owned Fairy Tail or Bleach, people wouldn't even cry if Ichigo or Natsu died. Honestly, I mean I suck at that. Which is why we start this story with exactly what I suck at~**

* * *

Lucy quickly jumped back, feeling the wind of the blade swinging down right in front of her blow her hair back. Had she been just a little bit slower about that, she'd have been sliced in half. Before she even had her balance back from the jump, she threw her hand forward, twisting her wrist to make the whip fly out. It flashed forward and soon wrapped around her opponent's thin sword and his arm.

Judging by the pitying look she was rewarded from the eyes which seemed to always be closed and smiling, it was clear he didn't doubt his victory in this battle. Alas, he tilted his wrist up and, with a forceful pull, cut straight through the magical weapon.

Damn it! This guy was leagues above her in terms of fighting-strength and experience. She stood no chance!

Nonetheless, she quickly drew out a pair of golden keys. She looked at her opponent with a grim but determined look. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Gate of the Lion!" She chanted, seeing some confusion in her opponent's expression. "Taurus! Leo!" She almost screamed. She might not be able to beat this guy, but she could at least hold him back till the others arrived.

Immediately as her two spirits appeared, they jumped right into action. Taurus charged straight forward with his axe held above his head. He swung it down as soon as the enemy was within range. The giant axe was soon blocked by a thin blade.

Meanwhile, Loke crept up from the back, his fist already pulsing with magic. When the enemy noticed his approach, it already seemed too late. "Regulus-" Loke began, but was cut off.

"Bakudō Four." The enemy calmly stated, yet with some power in his voice, as he pointed his free fingertips towards the Lion spirit. He didn't turn around to watch the cackling, yellow magic wrap around Loke tightly like vines. Instead, he easily deflected Taurus' axe and angled his blade to cut the spirit's arm off. That was enough to send the Bull back to the Celestial Realm with a pained cry.

Lucy gasped in both surprise and fright. This man took out Taurus so easily, what wouldn't he do to Loke, who was restrained by his strange magic?

She wanted to move forward to stop this man from hurting her friend and spirit - she really did. But she found herself completely frozen in place as he turned around to face her Lion spirit.

"I'm really sorry about this.." He said with a low voice as he readied his sword in both of his hands.

Time seemed to freeze as Loke looked over at her with such a sad, apologetic expression. She could feel something break in her at the thought of Loke getting impaled by that sword. She wouldn't let it happen!

Time snapped back and then sped up impossibly much. She hadn't even realized what had happened, before she was looking into a set of surprised, teal eyes.

She heard a terrified gasp behind her. She didn't think further of it - her mind was working overtime trying to figure out why she was facing her opponent like this. And why he looked so… Sad?

She and he were both jolted out of their momentary trance by Loke's voice. "L-Lucy! NO!" He screamed with such terror it made her afraid as well.

She wanted to turn around and reassure him that everything was all right. But her body wouldn't move underneath her shoulders. The slight movement she managed made a shockwave of pure agony crush through her violently. So much so she would have fallen if not for what was holding her up. The sword, which was buried deep into her stomach.

Wait…

She looked up at her opponent with terror that mirrored that of Loke's scream. Her whole body suddenly began quaking uncontrollably when something thick rose in her throat. The liquid with such a terrifyingly metallic taste exploded out of her mouth and onto the white clothes the opponent was wearing.

She saw him tip his head down, his eyelids hiding eyes from sight again, though the smile was nowhere to be seen, before he roughly ripped the sword out of her stomach.

She heard a deafening shriek tear through the echoing cave. It took her a second to realize that the frightening sound had come from her own throat. Out of touch with everything, she felt her knees buckle under her, only to let her fall soon after.

"LUCY!" She heard Loke yell behind her, before being safely locked in his arms. "Fuck… Natsu! Gray! Erza! HELP!" He screamed for her teammates.

She felt him awkwardly getting her to lie down with her head lifted in his lap. She tried focusing her sight, blurred by what she realized were her own tears, on him. "L-Loke.." She struggled to whisper out with a voice she couldn't quite recognize as her own.

He whipped his attention back to her, clearly avoiding looking at the gaping hole in her abdomen. "It's all right, Lucy. They'll all be here in a second - everything will be all right." He reassured her with a trembling voice, which told her that he hardly believed it himself.

Any further conversation was halted by hurriedly approaching footsteps. "Luce! Loke! I heard that scream earlier - are you all right?" He yelled to them questioningly.

Lucy tilted her head lightly to the side, seeing the blurry figure approaching. She already knew who it was though. There wouldn't be a time when she couldn't recognize that voice. "Na… Tsu…" She barely managed to say.

She felt Loke tremble under her, when Natsu spoke again." What's going o…" He trailed off and came to a full stop. He was just a mere meter away from the two of them now. The metallic smell and taste in the air hit him like a train as he looked down at his limp, best friend. A crimson red spot was slowly spreading from her chest. And she was looking at him so incredibly softly. "L-Luce, what's…" He didn't need to ask though - his senses already told him what was happening.

He looked up at the enemy, who stood not far from the two of them, turning their attention to him as well. He was looking at them almost apologetically with his eyes slightly opened and a blank expression. But there was something calculating and evil swirling behind those cold eyes. Something unmistakably guilty.

It was like a raging fire had ignited behind Natsu's dark eyes as he began growling at the guy. "You… You did this…" He said accusingly as he took threatening steps forward. "YOU WILL PAY!" He roared, fire exploding all around him as he charged straight ahead.

Loke breathed a sigh of relief to see Natsu had enough reason left in him to keep the fight at a distance away from them. He broke away from it when he felt a light, weak touch at his cheek. "Are… You… O-okay?" His blonde friend and master asked him weakly. Concern swimming in her warm eyes.

This… This worry over him, despite her own state. This was what made him finally break and let his tears loose. "Yes, Lucy - Princess. I am okay." He told her slowly, placing his hand over hers.

Her eyes crinkled up as she tried to smile. The action only made her cough up even more blood. Calming herself down again, she looked up at him. "I'm.. Glad…" She finally managed to tell him.

He looked down at her with lightly furrowed eyebrows. "Why did you do it…" He asked her suddenly. "I would have survived that hit, Princess. You know I would have." He reminded her softly.

She looked up at him thoughtfully. "I.. Know…" She confirmed slowly. "But my body… Moved… By itself." She told him, giving him an enchanting smile - even through the blood smeared on her chin. "I guess… I just… Love you… That much.." She slowly told him, ending out in a little laugh, which immediately turned into coughs. They wretched their way through her body painfully.

She could barely hear it over her own noisiness, but faintly she sensed Loke yelling again. "GRAY! Hurry up!"

Another set of light footsteps halted right beside her. "Shit.. Lucy!" She heard the familiar voice of the Ice-make mage almost snarl out in anger.

"G.. ray…" She whispered, slowly turning around. Never had she seen such a pissed expression on his face as he was looking towards Natsu's fight. Yet at the same time, it was filled with such fright and sorrow.

"Gray! Let Natsu take care of the fight - we need to stop the bleeding." Loke told him quickly but firmly.

Gray looked at him, then at Natsu, then nodded grimly. He looked to her with a soft expression. "Sorry, Lucy.. This is probably going to hurt a little." He told her. She gave a weak nod, then gasped when his cold fingers touched her bare skin. He looked apologetically at her once, before the temperature dropped around them.

For a moment, she lay completely petrified as searing cold burst out from her chest. It seemed to last forever, but then she got some control of herself back. And with it, a scream which tore itself free of her lungs mercilessly. She soon lost control of herself again, as she began thrashing involuntarily and uncontrollably. All while she screamed her lungs dry.

"Erza! Help me hold her still! She vaguely heard Loke yell out as he attempted holding her shoulders down. She knew she was making it very difficult for Gray right now, but she couldn't help it. Every reflex and instinct told her to escape.

A strong hold held her legs down, and with that almost immobilized her. In turn making it much more doable for Gray. Despite that, her screaming never stopped. And she knew it tore at her own limits as well as the ones around her.. And it only made her want to scream out even more.

It took an eternity, but then Gray was finally done. The cold and pain didn't stop, it just settled. And as her voice died in her throat - extinguished both by lack of air and exhaustion - likewise did her struggling also disappear.

The people around her carefully let her go and when she didn't even twitch in movement, they all breathed out in relief.

"Lucy." She heard one of them call her name. Probably Loke. She kept her eyes closed though, too tired to open them. Breathing was difficult enough in and of itself. "Lucy, are you okay?" Still, she was too tired to act out or respond to the question. Even though she knew she should. "Lucy, please! Stay awake!" She heard them tell her, shaking her none too gently as well.

She groaned in both irritation and exhaustion. "Too.. Tired…" She explained herself curtly. All she wanted to do was to just… Sleep.

"Lucy. You have to stay awake. I won't lose you now." A stern, female voice told her sharply. Though a transparent fear lingered in it. Erza..

"Lushee… Don't go towards the light..!" She heard a light tearful voice tell her innocently. That had to be Happy.

"I… Won't…" She reassured him, opening her eyes just slightly only to meet his big, teary ones. "I just… Need to… Sleep… For a… Little While…" She told him weakly.

"Lucy." Gray told her seriously as her tired gaze moved to him. A tremble was visible in him as well.. "You know you can't do that. You have to keep fighting." He told her. She felt a cold hand take hers, but she didn't even flinch or anything at all at the new sensation - another proof of her worsening condition. Her body was simply too tired. "If not for yourself, then for us.. And all of Fairy Tail." He told her seriously.

She gently closed her eyes shut as he finished. Who knew Gray could actually be so good at motivational speeches?

She felt another soft touch at her shoulder. "And the Celestial Realm as well.." Loke added in, squeezing her shoulder lightly. She wasn't quite sure though… Her body was slowly numbing completely.

"You can't give up, Lucy. Fairies always fight to their last breath." Erza told her somewhat awkwardly. She was clearly trying to keep up the stern act, but it was crumbling into a thousand pieces with every passing second.

"Yeah!" Happy piped in. "Without you, who will give me salmon?!" He asked her brokenly.

If she could, she would have smiled at that. But her body didn't obey her at all. "I'm.. Sure… You'll… Figure… It out…" She forced out with growing difficulty. "Ask… Mira…" She then finally added with a voice trembling with both exhaustion and emotion.

She fought against everything to open her eyes a single, final time. This would be her last chance to truly look and see them all again. She could only see very blurry images of the people around her. But in her mind's eyes, they all appeared so clearly to her.

Having used the last bit of strength in her, she let her eyelids slide down again, instead envisioning them and the entire guild in her mind. She could see Mira happily chatting with Lisanna from behind the bar, while polishing one of the many glasses. She could see Erza eating one of her strawberry cakes by one of the tables, Carla and Happy sharing a fish by the very same table, while Wendy looked around nervously at the many flying tables. Natsu and Gray were in the center of the hall, as always in the middle of one of their trademark brawls. Gajeel was sitting off in his usual corner, looking for a chance to jump into the fray as well. Levy and Pantherlily were right by him, chatting about a book. Jet and Droy were off to the side, looking enviously at the little scene. Likewise, Elfman was also sending Evergreen stolen looks. She, on the other hand, was watching disapprovingly while Cana was drinking Laxus, Bickslow and the Master under the table. Freed was standing next to her with an almost identical look. Juvia was creeping behind a pillar, watching with hearts in her eyes as Gray discarded his shirt.

Yes… They were all there. At home… At Fairy Tail.

"Lucy…" She heard Loke's trembling voice above her, breaking her out of her temporary trance.

She gathered together the last strength she had I her, wanting to get the last words out. "Tell… Tell.. Natsu…" She trailed off, feeling her eyes getting soaked in water. "I… Love… You…" She said weakly, hearing their breaths catch in all of their throats, knowing this was the final goodbye. "All.. Of… You…" She said, her voice dying out, her last strength gone. She could only wish she could have told him and everyone else herself, but there was nothing she could do about it now. All she knew was that, no matter where she was going now, she would never truly leave Fairy Tail.

With that said, she breathed her last breath and let herself fall into a bottomless sleep.

* * *

Even the wild explosions behind them weren't enough to break the deafening silence that erupted after her words. Some parts of their minds knew the reality of this situation, but the far majority couldn't get itself to believe or accept it.

Loke looked down at the still and serene body of his most recent owner and one of his best friends. Waiting for her to twitch or moan in pain or just _something._ To open her eyes and tell them that everything would be okay. The she was okay.

But nothing happened.

She just lay completely still, looking as if she was asleep and as beautiful as ever, even with the blood trailing down her chin.

"Lucy… Princess… Please… Don't go. Not now.. Not like this." He pleaded with her, gently lifting his hand to stroke her cold cheek. "Please, not yet… I haven't had the chance to repay you for all that you have done…" He said, his voice dropping in volume as a myriad of emotions gradually overwhelmed him.

Gray barely dared to look up at the Lion spirit, one of his closest friends. He immediately regretted it. The always loyal and strong Lion he had known him to be was now looking down at the blonde with such a broken expression.

The picture in front of him tore at his own defenses, only to make them drop a moment later. "We were too late…" He mumbled lowly as the very same fact settled in his mind. The strength left him with a whoosh and he fell back on his legs, his hands and arms hanging loosely by his sides tears freely falling from his dark eyes.

Erza's tension and her hope fell with his defenses and she planted her forehead in the ground. And attempt to hide her tears, though it was of no use. Her whole body wrenched with each sob, making her armor clink right along with her.

Happy had likewise dropped to a sitting position, his paws hanging loosely in front of him as he stared at the ground sadly, a million thoughts running through his little head.

Loke had looked at Gray silently as he said that, and as his words wormed their way into his mind, a furious expression took hold of his features. He wasn't furious at them, he was furious at himself and the way the world had decided to treat him.

"No…" He started, anger fuming in his low voice. "No! NO! NOOOOO!" He finally whipped his head back and roared ferally. The sound was that of a Lion, but the force behind it was that of a dragon.

A golden, magical light exploded all around the five of them, only to rise up as a beam quickly as his roar grew in strength. The pillar of light shone so brightly and so overwhelmingly that none of them could tear their gazes away from it. The feeling of pure magical power it exuded had them all staring at it in something akin to fear.

As the Lion's breath gradually burned out, the beam likewise narrowed down to encase only Lucy. And with complete silence, it seemed to draw into Lucy entirely and disappear. The only trace of its existence was the unnatural glow that remained on the blonde after it was gone.

Having used up all his anger and what remained of his magic he looked down at his key-holder with a soft smile. "This is my last gift to you, Princess. Now it's all in your hands…" He muttered, gently brushing a stray strand of hair away from her glowing face.

He looked up at the slightly gaping faces of his friends, already seeing the wisps of golden magic signaling his return to the Celestial realm. Giving them a curt nod in goodbye, he was swallowed up in the golden light and disappeared.

* * *

Natsu and his opponent both halted in surprise when a deafening roar and an explosion of magic washed over them and caught their immediate attention. They both looked over to the five people who were his friends, only to see the Lion spirit disappear. Left were Gray, Erza and Happy - all of whom looked entirely broken - and an eerily glowing Lucy. Was that Loke's doing, or… Was it her own? Taking a quick glance at the other three, he figured it was the former of those two…

But then… What did that mean for Lucy..?

He barely spared his opponent any attention as some of the others with him - who were supposed to be knocked out still - approached him. "Captain. I think we need to leave." One of the subordinates said.

The one the Fire Dragon Slayer had just fought, the captain, nodded, correcting his glasses. "Yes, we should." He agreed. Before anyone could do anything else, all of their enemies had left the cave, leaving Team Natsu for themselves.

Natsu stumbled forward slowly, not sure whether he wanted to believe what he was slowly realizing or not. He could still smell the blood in the air, but a strong small of salt now also lingered in the air as well. He could almost taste the smells on his tongue. But the worst of it all.. He could only hear four heartbeats…

The three looked up at him sadly as he fell to his knees near the blonde's shoulders. He hardly looked at them at all though. "Luce..?" He asked carefully, tryingly. He reached out and gently touched her shoulder, only to basically flinch back as soon as his fingertips touched her. Pulling himself together, he placed his hand where he had just touched her. "Luce?" He asked with a little more force in his voice. Still, he got no response.

Erza looked at Natsu softly, seeing he look of almost panic which spread on his face. "Natsu." She simply said, trying to get his attention for a moment.

It fell on entirely deaf ears though. "Lucy?!" He asked, starting to shake her shoulder gently in rising panic, trying to wake her from the slumber she had to be in. When didn't get a reaction from this either, he only got more forceful in his shaking of her shoulder. "Lucy!" He almost yelled desperately.

Realizing where this was going, Gray quickly reached out and grabbed his rival's hand, keeping it completely still. "Natsu! Stop it, you'll only hurt her!" He told him, effectively putting an end to what he was doing. "Besides." He said, looking from the blonde to the Dragon Slayer. "You know better than we do.." He trailed off, hearing one of the bigger sobs from Happy. Looking back at the Dragon Slayer, he found him still staring stiffly at the Celestial mage between them. "You can't hear it, can you?" Gray asked, trying to hide the tremble which once again was visible in his voice and how the tears began fighting for freedom again. "Her heartbeat.. You can't hear it." He clarified, feeling a new wave of sorrow wash over him as he said it out loud.

Natsu clenched his eyes shut almost painfully and gritted his teeth in frustration. He didn't want to hear that from him. He didn't need to hear what he already knew. He hadn't been able to hear it from the very beginning. He already knew that he wouldn't be seeing her warm, brown eyes open again.

Releasing some sort of broken sound he could just barely recognize as his own, he gently pulled Lucy up by the top of her shoulders.

Gray was about to call out to him again, but Erza reached over with a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking her head. It looked like she was about to engage in a bout of fresh tears as well.

Natsu paid them no attention as he carefully pulled the seemingly sleeping blonde up to him, only momentarily flinching at the coldness near her chest. "I'm sorry, Luce.." He whispered, his voice trembling enough to make it difficult to understand. Pulling the blonde closer, he curled in on himself, his head having gotten too heavy, and not even trying to fight the tears which welled up in his eyes. "I'm so sorry.." He almost whimpered as his ability to speak was drowned out by his tears.

* * *

In unison, the team had managed to get the blonde cleaned up, at least the worst of it… It was one - no, _the_ hardest thing any of them had done in their lives. And now.. They were headed home to let the rest of the guild know about… It wouldn't be pretty.

Luckily, they'd been given a blanket to cover the blonde with as they went - making it look more like she'd just fallen asleep.

Any warmth she'd had rushing through her veins was virtually gone now, only further proving the reality of the situation.

As it was, the walk was mostly silent. None of them spoke to each other unless necessary. All of them were completely caught up in their own thoughts. Gray and Era were walking at the front while Happy and Natsu, who was carrying Lucy, were walking behind the other two.

He'd been the one carrying her the entire time, and he hadn't put her down for anything - not even the blanket.

Looking down at the blonde, he thought again what he had already thought a million times. Had he only been a little faster, he could have prevented all this from happening. Actually, if he hadn't left her at all, he could have protected her from getting hurt at all. He would have faced this 'captain' right from the beginning and she'd have faced one of the subordinates instead. No one would have had to get this hurt. No one would have had to….

His thoughts strayed to a place they'd yet to arrive at. A place he hadn't quite had the guts to enter just yet. Until.. Now.

He hugged the blonde a little closer to himself. Without her… What was he going to do now? Who would he go on every single mission with? Who would keep him and Gray from killing each other when Erza wasn't there? And who would scold him and the other two when they were being destructive on missions? Who would always bug him about their rent and get him on record-breakingly many missions in the duration of a month? Who would always hug him with every completed mission? Who would send him the brightest of smiles whenever he showed up at the guild every morning? Who would always have food in the fridge for him and Happy? Who would let them sleep over in their beds every night? Who would laugh at him? At his jokes? His stupidity? Who would forgive him for all the idiotic things he did? For destroying their home in a fight with Gray? Every single time? Who would run their fingers through his hair and calm him down on the train? Who would he constantly worry about on missions? Who would he have to protect? Who would he love?

Who could he possibly love as much as he loved Lucy?

She meant more to him than Fairy Tail did. More than Erza and Gray - even Happy. She was more important to him than his own life..

He stopped entirely where he stood as the words he had just thought truly registered in his head.

With him suddenly stopping up, and so lagging behind the others, Happy turned around questioningly. "Natsu?" He asked hoarsely, his throat clogged with emotions and raw from no use. The look on the Dragon Slayer's face was strange. Impossible to describe, really. Sad, shocked, terrified, happy, confused.. All at the same time.

Said Dragon Slayer didn't even look down at his blue, furry friend as he replied - though it wasn't much of a reply. "I love her." He stated in a low voice. He seemed taken aback at what he had just said himself too, as strange as that was.

Gray turned around to his rival, crossing his arms as he did so. "Yes, we all do, Natsu." He said exasperatedly. Had it been in any other sort of situation, he would have rolled his eyes too.

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows as he looked to the Ice-make mage. "No, Gray. I _love_ her." He repeated, his voice heavy with meaning and much more firm as he stressed that word.

Erza's eyes were the first to widen, and she was also the first to respond. "Like… That?" She asked, knowing they'd all understand exactly what she meant.

Natsu turned his dark eyes to the scarlet-haired knight. "Yes.. Like that." He confirmed slowly, softly squeezing the blonde in his arms in an almost emphasizing gesture. So it really was true you never knew how much you cared for something unless you lost it… How ironic.

The other three needed a moment to swallow the new and quite unexpected news. They had all expected it to happen at some point… But not right here. Meanwhile, Natsu moved forward again, leaving them to follow behind.

* * *

While the trip from the nearby town to Magnolia on foot wasn't especially long, it certainly felt that way for the three Fairy Tail mages. Basically all of it was spent in silence and after Natsu's revelation, it became a very heavy one too. Each of them were wondering how they were going to break it to all the others - if their minds weren't occupied with how their daily lives would even work now, that is.

Back then time didn't seem able to pass fast enough. Now they'd reached Magnolia, nervousness had them breaking a sweat and definitely wishing that time would stop again.

Nonetheless, they had to move forward. It had to be done. No matter how much they wished it didn't. And no matter how well they knew that saying what was yet to be said would break their hearts all over again.

They went through smaller streets to reach the guild - both wanting to procrastinate the inevitable and to meet as few people as possible on the way. Less interactions equals less questions that they didn't want to answer. Still, they met a few, and though they may have wanted to greet the team at first, the generally dark atmosphere around the five had them re-thinking that idea.

Finally, they had reached the guild. Simultaneously a shiver ran down each of their spines as they entered guild-grounds - probably due to their anxiety with the coming situation.

Giving each other a quick glance, they nodded, and Erza stepped forward to hold the door for Natsu. Their less than grand entrance seemed to garner them much more attention than their usual entrance ever did.

Mira looked at them and smiled as usual, despite the strangely heavy mood they entered with. "Hey guys, how did the mission go?" She asked them politely as she served beers for Macao and Wakaba.

Gray looked at her with an expression she only ever saw him wearing when talking about Ur. Which he almost never did. He hesitated a moment before replying. "… Wrong." Was all he said.

It was enough confirmation for Gajeel though. "Fuck." He muttered out loud. His realization sparked the very same realization in Wendy, who raised her hands to her mouth and sobs wrecked their way through her, tears already forming in her eyes.

"Wrong…?" Mira asked confusedly, her eyebrows knit together in concern as she watched the two Dragon Slayers' reactions.

Erza nodded. "It is… It is Lucy…" She trailed off, clearly struggling to find the right words. "She… She is… Something happened and she… I… Do-"

Natsu lost his currently very minimal patience and cut the scarlet knight off in the midst of her struggling. "Lucy is dead."

* * *

 **My… Difficult chapter to write, to be honest with you all.** **Not only do I absolutely love Lucy, but I have previously failed - horribly in some cases - when I had to write sad scenes, and this was an entire chapter dedicated to sadness and pain. I had to re-write it 3 times!** **  
** **Well, I hope I conveyed it all right and that it made you just the tiniest bit sad, at least.**

 **By the way - a little worthy note to consider - throughout the chapter, I didn't use the word 'dead' or any synonyms you usually use until the very end, when Natsu said it out loud.  
And, maybe not so surprisingly, that has a meaning in and of its own. Until it was said out loud, all of them were in denial - thinking that there was still a chance. But that was the nail in the coffin for them. **

**Also, as you can see, I opted to go for another layout this time around... Ish. Well, tell me what you think!**

 **So, we'll see what I'll figure out for next chapter, huh? Ah yes, and of course, as usual I will be uploading once a week - probably around this time. If not, I'll be warning you about it one way or another.**

 **Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and followed this story (Though it can't be many yet)! I hope it was to your liking!**

 **~ Line464d**


	2. Chapter 2 - Saying Goodbye

**Chapter 2 - Saying Goodbye**

 **First off, thanks to you all for receiving this story so well! - I'm glad it seemed to catch your attention, and I hope it'll keep hold of it right until the end!**

 **SECOND AND MORE IMPORTANTLY! If you haven't already watched/read Bleach, some of the characters and the things I've changed here** _ **will**_ **be lost on you. So I highly suggest you go watch/read it (it's also a really good anime/manga). I'll try to make it understandable as well as I can either way though, so those of you who haven't also have a chance**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!  
Disclaimer: I own neither Fairy Tail nor Bleach. Obviously.**

* * *

Lucy woke up with a jolt. Or so she'd thought. But strangely enough, she was standing upright right at the very gates of the Fairy Tail guild's entrance. She had absolutely no recollection of how she'd ended up there, though she suspected she'd just been caught up in her own world while automatically just following her teammates, who were all walking right in front of her.

"Hey guys! Wait for me!" She called out to them, having lagged a little behind. When she got no response - none of them even looked back at her - she looked at them confusedly. She couldn't help noticing how their shoulders sagged as if all energy had left them long ago.

Bu what really made all the alarm-bells ringing in her mind was the fact that they walked calmly inside, with Erza holding the door. No kicking, no breaking of doors, no explosive entrances… Nothing. They _never_ did this. What was going on..?

Like with her, their completely unexpected entrance caught the entire guild's attention. They all knew something was up if this had happened, but… What?

Lucy tiptoed round Gray, sneaking a peek at his unusually grim expression. "Hey, Gray." She whispered, still not getting much of a reaction. She continued on nonetheless - they were probably just pulling a prank on all of them. "What's going on?" She asked in a whisper. His gaze didn't even flicker in her direction. Now it was actually pissing her off a little bit.

And she wanted to let them know just that, when Mira cut her off. "Hey guys. How did the mission go?" She asked with her usual smile, while serving beer for Macao and Wakaba, though they - like everyone else - had their attention focused solely on the team in the middle of the hall.

Gray looked at the maid with an expression that Lucy had seen only a very little number of times. "…Wrong." He said slowly and with such sadness lacing his voice.. Sadness which was usually only reserved for his foster mother… Just what in the world was she missing right now?

Apparently this also got Gajeel in on it, as he muttered a 'Fuck' immediately after. This then had the chain-reaction of Wendy releasing a heavy sob while hiding her mouth behind her small hands. Both of them sporting expressions compromised of surprise, sorrow and fright.

At this point, Lucy really got the feeling that she was forgetting something vital. Something which would immediately explain this whole situation.

Like everyone else, who still had no clue what was going on, Mira looked at the team concernedly. "Wrong..?" She repeated confusedly, her eyebrows knit together delicately.

Erza nodded stiffly.. Almost robotically. "It is… It is Lucy…" She trailed off, losing the thread as emotions of all kinds seemed to overwhelm her.

The blonde Celestial mage looked at her scarlet friend confusedly. "Me?" She asked. "What about me?" She continued, getting further frustrated when no one even glanced in her direction.

Erza tried again, having taken a moment to collect herself. "She.. She is… Something happened and she… I… Do-"

Natsu lost his patience then, and cut the knight off in the middle of her sentence. "Lucy is dead." He curtly stated. And seriously too.

The blonde snorted in laughter. "Okay, this is the most idiotic…" Her words trailed off as she looked at her pink-haired friend. Despite his attempt on taking it with a straight face, it was clear his shoulders trembled. And.. He was holding someone in his arms, who didn't even twitch the slightest. Someone blonde…

Her.

Lucy stumbled a step backwards in surprise as if the realization had physically hit her. The guild had descended into a heavy, disbelieving silence. What only made it worse was the fact that no one reacted to her going into a slight panic-attack, only supporting Natsu's claim. She was.. Dead?

Master, who had silently been watching from the second floor, now hurried down to Team Natsu. Or what was left of it. The look on his face was completely unbearable.

As he stopped up in front of them, Erza took the word again, being the team leader after all. "M-master.. W-we t-trie-ed b-b-but-but.. W-we did ev-everything w-w-we c-cou-ould.. B-but we w-were t-t-too lat-te.." She stuttered brokenly, tears welling up in her eyes as she seemingly remembered all that had happened all over again.

Master nodded, sending the troubled redhead a soft look. "I know you did, my child." He reassured her. Looking at Natsu, he made a gesture towards the girl in his arms. "May I… Have a look?" he asked for permission.

For a moment, the Fire Dragon Slayer actually hesitated. But then he clenched his jaw and nodded lightly. He lowered himself down to the Master's height and at the same time, made the perfect view for the blonde behind him.

Slowly, Master pulled the blanket covering the body off. Finally, he peeled the last flap off, revealing the fatal injury underneath.

While Erza, Gray and Happy had no desire to look at the injury again and therefore looked away, the Master took on a very pained look. "Oh, my child." He said heavily, his many wrinkles getting even deeper by the second.

Somewhere far away, she heard Levy cry out, but all her mind could focus on was the hole she saw in the abdomen of what was her own, dead body. Her hands flew to her own abdomen but rather than the hole she had half expected to feel there, a strange steel chain poked out of her chest.

Nonetheless, the action sent a flood of memories crashing through her brain. Everything about her recent death was crystal clear in her mind. And it made it turn in her stomach. She could still feel the thin blade, and how that guy had pulled it out of her. How that cold steel slid against her insides.

As the silence in the guild was broken, Lucy ran outside, only to retch up all the air in her lungs. It was true… It was really true… She was actually dead. That… Was her own body in there… Her dead body…

She slowly sank down on her knees, staring blankly at the guild's walls as she listened to the sounds coming from the inside. The sounds of almost pure agony.. It brought a tear to her eye and bubbles of mixed emotions to burst inside her.

On one hand… It warmed her heart inexplicably much to know they all cared about her. To know they'd miss her. To know they'd cry and make sound like that over her.

But.. On the other hand, it also hurt her as much as it warmed her. _She_ was the one causing them this pain, she was the reason they were agonizing… Ad she definitely didn't want to be. She didn't want to see them all in this kind of pain.

She didn't want this Fairy Tail to be the last one she'd see.

She just wished she'd had the chance to say goodbye to all of them properly. The chance to tell all of them exactly what they meant to her. And that she wished for everything to remain the same. For Fairy Tail to remain Fairy Tail.

Maybe that was the reason she was still here. That wish that she'd had the opportunity to say goodbye. Actually, she was pretty sure that was the reason. Ironically, as a ghost, she couldn't even communicate with them at all, so she wasn't even able to fulfill that wish. All she could do was just… Watch.

But it was still something. She had to take advantage of it while she still could at least.

With that thought in mind, she slowly got up on her feet. The sound of jingling metal caught her attention. It sounded strangely unfamiliar. Almost reflexively, her hand flew down to her hip, where her keys usually rested, only to find they weren't there. Looking down in confusion, her eyes fell on the chain, which poked out of her chest.

In her rush earlier, she had barely registered it was even there. But now she really looked at it, she got a really… Ominous feeling from it. Not only because it was fastened to her chest - the exact place she had been impaled - and because it generally was unnatural.

No, the chain in itself was foreboding. She had the strangest feeling that this chain was what would tear her away from her family when the time came. And she knew it would, simply from looking at it.

She had a feeling she wasn't quite like the First guild master, Mavis. Mavis didn't have this chain and she could still communicate with everyone, still be seen. Which of them was the special case, she had no idea.

She sighed, shook her head and moved towards the door. She would worry about that later. However… She found those very doors closed. Not thinking much of it, she reached out to open it, only to find her hand passing right through it entirely.

Right.. She was dead. Alas, she stepped right through the door - quite literally.

On the other side, she found mostly silence. At least in comparison to what was usual for them. Most were huddled together in their most familiar groups, muttering or crying sadly. It wasn't at all a sight you'd connect with Fairy Tail. It almost seemed like a whole other guild entirely.

She immediately noticed how Mira had resigned herself to her siblings, being hugged closely by her brother, who was crying manly tears as well. Looking at Lisanna, who more than anything else was looking at her emotional siblings, Lucy realized she'd not even given that girl much of a chance, having been afraid of what she could change with her revival. She regretted that now.

Cana seemed to have actually passed out from drinking too much alcohol. Several empty barrels were also by her side, the cause of her current condition.

Lucy was hugging Gajeel, who looked like he wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation, while she was crying her eyes out. Lucy couldn't help but smile gently. She hoped her passing would bring those two together. It'd been a long time coming and if so, her death would have at least brought something good with it.

Jet and Droy, on the other hand, didn't look particularly excited about their teammate's current situation, but also knew they shouldn't do anything about it right now.

Gray was sitting at a table, alone. His face was completely hid from sight by both of his hands, and his whole body was trembling in emotion. From that alone, people knew not to approach him right now.

Likewise, Natsu was pacing back and forth, looking thoughtfully but impatiently at the ground as he walked. Waiting for something, it seemed.

Looking around the guild hall, she quickly found Juvia, Erza and Wendy to be gone. And herself too… That was probably what Natsu was waiting for. Why, she didn't know.

She didn't have to wait for long to find out - the three girls, with Erza carrying her body, just stepped out of the room they'd just been in. The guild went completely silent, as silent as they were when Team Natsu stepped inside so uncharacteristically. Alas, it was a simple matter to eavesdrop on the conversation Erza briefly had with Master Makarov.

"Master, we have her cleaned up now." She stated rather awkwardly, but starting up a dialogue nonetheless.

Master nodded, his expression still unchanged from what it had been earlier. "Thank you, children." He said solemnly, realizing how tough a task it must have been on the girls. Especially Wendy had red and swollen eyes, a very real proof of just that. "I believe we should place her in the infirmary for now.. Until everything has been prepared…" He said, clearly steering around the fact that what they were to prepare was a funeral.

Her funeral.

Natsu approached them, looking down at the lifeless Lucy with a pained expression. It cut straight through the heartstrings of the ghostly Lucy. "I'll take her up there." He said firmly. It was in no way up for discussion. "I… Need a moment alone." He then added much more softly. It was a little difficult to hear from where she stood, but the same silence still remained and made it possible.

With a soft look and a little nod, Erza handed the girl over to the pinkette. In all likelihood, she also needed a moment to swallow everything she'd just gone through.

Lucy decided to follow the person who had always been her partner as he carried her into the guild's infirmary. From the corner of her sight, she saw Master going into his office - probably to fill the kind of paperwork he'd hoped he would have never needed to do.

She slipped inside the room only to almost feel like she was intruding on something which she shouldn't. Natsu was slowly, carefully and ever so gently placing her in one of the beds, before pulling up a blanket to cover the ever-present hole in her chest.

Then finally, he pulled a little chair over to the bedside and placed himself there - all while keeping his gaze locked on her seemingly sleeping face. It was almost like he was hoping against hope that something would happen. That she would wake up and everything would remain the same. He was watching and probably also listening for that slight, slight chance that she might just wake up.

She had no doubt he - like her - knew that no such thing would happen. She was not going to wake up again, her heart had long since stopped beating and her blood was no longer flowing. None of it was going to restart suddenly. It was truly over for her.

Reaching under the cover, Natsu pulled out her hand and held it in both of his, while still keeping his gaze on her face. Clenching his jaw once, he took a shaky breath and then wore a painfully apologetic expression. "Luce… I'm so sorry.." He started out, probably searching for the words he'd cooked up while pacing around earlier. "I should have protected you, I should have been there for you. I shouldn't even have left you at all." He continued as she moved over to the other side of the bed - to see how he was reacting and to get closer.

She moved slowly, almost tiptoeing, in fear of him catching her eavesdropping - because that was what it felt like to her. She knew he was actually talking to her. This was a message directed solely for her. But still, she knew that it also probably wouldn't have come if it wasn't because of what had happened. However, while it felt like an intrusion, she couldn't tear herself away from it. Some part of her wanted to listen and knew it was important.

And judging by her best friend's expression, this was a message he'd been keeping in for a while. "I.. I'd promised myself, promised you, that I would protect you no matter what… And I failed and broke that promise.. I'm so sorry, Luce, it's all my fault." He told her, his voice growing into a mumble as he went. "It's all my fault everything is like this.." He said with a trembling voice brought their hands to his forehead.

Lucy looked at him with a frown and tears building in her eyes at his words. "No…" She whispered, then leaned closer to him, looking directly at the Dragon Slayer she had never seen crying before this very moment. He truly believed this was his fault… "No, Natsu, this isn't your fault. Can you hear me?" She asked him questioningly. Though she got no response, she still continued. " _I_ was and idiot. _I_ thought I could take that guy on. _I_ jumped in front of Loke and took the hit. _I_ did all those things. Not you. This isn't your fault." She told him.

Tears were already trailing down her cheeks at the knowledge that he couldn't hear what she had just told him. Who would tell him that it wasn't his fault like this?

She saw him squeeze her hand as he fought against his tears. A losing battle. "I can't lose you now, Luce. I just can't…" He mumbled almost intelligibly through the tears. "I'll miss you so much, Luce." He whispered, curling up on himself even more in his pain.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but the action did in no way stop her tears. She gently brought her hands up to her chest and tilted her head down. "I'll miss you too, Natsu. I'll miss you more than you know." She whispered back, her voice breaking halfway. She'd known herself for a while that out of everyone she knew, she cared for Natsu, her pink-haired, trouble-making partner just a bit more and a little differently.

Natsu breathed in shakily, almost whimpering as he did so. "I'll miss everything about you.." He whispered, not having much voice for anything else. "Every smile of yours. Every laugh." He began listing up. "I'll miss you on every mission. Every day, every night. I'll miss the way you could always calm me down on the train. I'll especially miss those mornings waking up with you.. Going to sleep with you. Eating with you." He continued despite his voice cracking several times. He looked at her again, and now didn't seem to care about the water which fell in constant streams down his cheeks.

"Natsu.." She whimpered, her voice made hoarse by the many, uncontrollable tears. She would miss all of that too. His saying it out loud made it even harder and even more real to her. She really wouldn't experience any of those things ever again. Though she knew it was only just now she realized just how much she was actually losing. As it was slipping out of her grasp.

"I'll miss your touch. Every hug and even getting kicked by you." He said with a little, broken laugh. "Looking into your eyes - even if they're angry at me." He added. "I'll miss you sweet scent of vanilla and strawberry wherever I go." He said, then paused. "Everything… I'll just miss everything.." He repeated shakily. "I don't know what I'll do without you…" He finally whimpered as well.

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at her best friend, her hand raised to her mouth. No… It couldn't be.. He…. Just like her..? Did he really…?

With everything shaking about him, he continued talking. "I only just noticed recently, but Luce… You mean even more to me than Igneel… You mean more than my own father. I can't lose you.." He cried, almost childishly, but so much deeper and painfully. "I'd do anything to get you back, Luce. Anything at all. I don't care, I just want you back.." He said, not able to see the effect his words had on the very girl he was speaking to.

She was completely speechless from what she was hearing him say. She couldn't believe what he was telling her right now. She could only have wished.. That it hadn't happened this way, that she'd done something earlier.

"Luce… I…" He trailed off, squeezing her hand in both of his again. "Love you." He finally said, the confession bringing up a batch of whole new emotions rushing through the both of them.

The onslaught made her fall to her knees helplessly as she could do nothing but look at the man she had loved with wide eyes. He really loved her..? He had actually loved her back this entire time…? It was too much for her to handle right now. Too hard to accept.

"I love you, Lucy." He repeated, using her real name for the first time. It only made the message even clearer. "More than anything else. More than anyone else. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you.. Please… Just… Come back to me.." He said, whimpering again as yet another wave of overwhelming emotions rushed through him.

There was nothing more she wanted to do either, and if she knew how, she would already be doing it. She gently and slowly reached out to him. "Natsu.." She whispered. When her hand simply passed through his cheek and made him shiver, she just looked down sadly. "I love you too, Natsu. I love you." She replied, wishing he could hear her at this very moment and for her to be able to touch him this single, last time.

"I'll even…" He trailed off again as he recollected his composure. "If it would get you back, I would go to hell and back. I'd go to heaven and take you with me back home. To Fairy Tail… To me." He told her.

The look in his eyes told her that he wasn't lying in the slightest. He was telling the truth. And she believed him. Believed in him. If he found a way, she had no doubt he would complete it. Whatever obstacles he faced, he would get over them. Somehow. That's what he always had done.

"If it's what it takes… I'll even kill for you.." He whispered. The fact seemed to surprise him too, but he was speaking genuinely still. She hoped it would never have to come to that. "I'd sacrifice myself any day if it meant you coming back to life." He said without any hesitation.

She looked softly at him and shook her head. "It wouldn't be worth it, Natsu. I don't want that. I don't want to come back if I can't have you either." She slowly told him.

He breathed in harshly, once again attempting the fight against his tears. A much more dark expression took hold of him, though remnants of the pained one he'd worn just now still remained. "One thing I can promise you though.." He told her with much more strength than before, though the expected hoarseness was also present. "I'll get stronger. Much stronger. I'll find the man who did this to you and I will avenge you. I couldn't beat him then, but I will next time. He won't beat me twice." He promised her solemnly while she was shaking her head in horror. "I'll make sure that man knows the pain that follows stealing a dragon's most precious treasure - his mate." He said, growing angry as he spoke.

She shook her head vigorously, looking directly at him, though he was only looking at the other her. "Please don't do that Natsu… I.. I don't want you to get hurt." She told him. Getting no response from him, though she knew she wouldn't, still stung more than she cared to admit. "Don't go and do something meaningless like that which might get you killed. That man was Gildarts-level, if not more.. Please don't do this to yourself." She pleaded with him, though she was painfully aware it fell on deaf ears. Even if he could hear her.

Unexpectedly though, as if someone had heard her plea, Natsu sank back down in his seat. "But.. That will have to wait.. There's still things that need to be taken care of…" He said lowly. "No matter what, you're always my top priority."

* * *

It was a pair of hours ago Natsu had ended his message. Since then, he had just been sitting by her, holding and stroking her hand gently. Sometimes carefully removing nonexistent strands from her still face. All in silence. The thoughts were crashing through his mind and the day caught up to him as he fell passed out and fell asleep from exhaustion - both physical and mental - right next to her, where he sat. His head was planted in the bed, but he was still gently holding her hand.

She had placed herself on the opposite, empty bed, creating a little distance between them as she merely observed her pink-haired friend's semi-relaxed expression. His eyes were swollen and red from all the crying he'd been doing.

She'd come to a realization though. Since she in all likelihood wouldn't be coming back once she'd disappeared, it really was for the best that no one could see or hear her right now. It would only make matters worse for all of them.

She didn't want to think about how it would affect Natsu if he'd known his love wasn't unrequited, but instead was mutual. He'd have to carry that knowledge around, knowing it was impossible for them to be together even though they'd both wanted to. Or he might throw himself head-first into something even more sinister. She didn't wish for either of those things to happen to him in the slightest. She didn't wish that kind of luggage for anyone.

So, while it hurt, she was okay with the fact that she couldn't communicate with everyone - as long as it meant everything would be easier for them in the end. It was still hard though. Hard to not feel like she was being completely ignored by everyone. And hard to know that while they could say their goodbyes, she couldn't say hers.

But she'd deal with that any day if it meant helping them at all. She could still hear their and Natsu's cries in her head, and it was part of the reason she hadn't moved out of this room yet.

She sighed deeply and sadly again as she slipped down from her seat and closed the distance between herself and her other self with Natsu. She would really miss him… Him and everyone else. Her family, her home. Why, her entire life really. Her everyday, daily life. All of it…

She really just wished this wasn't happening to her. It may seem a little childish, but she couldn't help wondering; why me? And why now? There were many people - also if it was only limited to female mages - yet this had to happen to her.. Why?

There were so many things she was going to lose. All the things and people she already had of course. She would lose it all. But not only that, she also lost the future she could have had here. All the future experiences, relationships and people she could have encountered and gotten to know better. Everything she'd been dreaming of becoming had all been ripped straight out of her hands before she could even do anything about it.. It hurt more than she thought it possible.

And what was worse - it made her imagine all the things she could have had so sharply. With Fairy Tail, her team and the life she had hoped she would one day have with the now sleeping Dragon Slayer in front of her. It all was so clear in her mind. And it just made it hurt all the more.

If she had one wish - one single wish only - she would wish to be brought back to life. It was all she could think of right now. Even if the afterlife made it possible for her to reunite with her parents again, she would still choose life above that. Even if it meant having that opportunity torn away from her forever. She knew they would both understand - she didn't have a single doubt about that actually. And she couldn't even imagine what any sort of life would be without all of them around her.

Her gaze fell to her own, dead body. Maybe… If she touched her body she would return to it again? Would she be able to come back and live her life after all? It was seen before that people miraculously awoke from the death - so why not her too? It was worth a shot at least.. What did she even have to lose at this point?

With the decision firmly planted in her head, she reached out to herself. Pausing for just a moment, she worried about what wouldn't happen to her if this didn't revive her. Maybe she would be completely erased forever. Or maybe her hand would just pass right through anticlimactically. Breathing in, she steeled her resolve once again. No matter what happened, it could almost only get better than her current situation.

With that, she closed the distance between her two selves. Her fingertips connected with her own, cold forehead and for a long, long moment nothing happened. Then a wave of pure agony suddenly washed through her from her fingertips. She wanted to pull them away, but her body didn't seem to obey her command at all. She had no time to react, before the pain reached her chest, where the chain was connected with her.

She didn't quite catch what happened, but a whole link of that big chain was swallowed inside her and sent so many agonizing waves of pain through her, that she was torn away from her other self violently and thrown all the way to the other end of the room.

Her ability to even speak was completely lost as she breathed in and out rapidly in an effort to douse the flaming pain inside her. As well as the rising panic. When this chain had completely disappeared… So would she.

She had no idea where the knowledge came from, but she knew it would happen, she knew it was true. When that chain was swallowed into her, she would cease to exist.

And there were only five links left.

She could only hope that she'd forced it by touching her body, otherwise she would only last a pair of days still.. She needed all the time she could get. That was all she had. She was on borrowed time..

She jumped up from where she had crash-landed against the wall, when the door to the hall outside was opened up carefully.

She watched confusedly as Bickslow stepped inside. He was quite close to being the last person she expected to see in here right now.

He shortly cast his gaze on Natsu - seemingly to have affirmed that he was already asleep. When that was confirmed, she watched him look around for something. That was until his gaze seemingly landed on her. Could he really…

"Holy shit…" He then said, pulling up the visor of his helmet to reveal a pair of wide eyes. "I knew I felt something in here." He continued in his lowered voice. "So what's got you hanging around here, Cosplayer?" He asked almost jokingly. His tone was too surprised for it to feel like a joke at all though.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You… You can see me?" She asked in surprise.

"Ah.. Seems I can't hear you." He said, watching as her expression dropped again. "But I can guess what you're saying though. And yeah, of course I can see you. That's my magic, duh." He said, before furrowing his eyebrows in what looked like concentration. "You're a bit blurry though.. Don't really know why." He told her with a light shrug.

The way he said that got her wondering though… If he hadn't seen or felt her before, what made him do it now? Was it because of her touching her body and the shockwave afterwards that he only sensed her just now?

"So you going to stay around here and listen to what everyone's gonna like you did with the guy over there, or what?" He suddenly asked, regaining the attention she'd momentarily let him lose.

Knowing he couldn't hear her now, she did a short shrug, then nodded. 'I suppose'. There wasn't much else she could do in her current situation.

He seemed to understand what she was trying to convey, luckily. "Pretty sure that's gonna be hella hard - but I guess you already know that from first-hand experience." He added and jabbed a finger towards Natsu.

She could only agree with that. She had a feeling she'd passed the worst one of them all though..

"Y'know, I can bring an empty totem for you if you want - like with my babies." He offered, simultaneously bringing her attention to the fact that none of them were with him right now.

She already knew the answer to that though. She shook her head, then placed her hand over her heart and looked up at him. 'No, but thanks'. It would hurt too much. Not just her, for being unable to really get into physical contact with any of them, but also for everyone else.. She'd be there, but she'd not truly be there. It wouldn't work out well.

He nodded a single time. "I see." He said. "Well, grab me if you change your mind though - the offer will still stand." He said with a grin which made his tongue loll out of his mouth as was characteristic of him.

She nodded. After a short pause and just before he seemed ready to go again, she brought a finger up to her lips in a shushing gesture.

"Yeah, sure. I'll keep your presence here under wraps. No problem." He paused to scratch the top of his helmet thoughtfully. "Well, I'll have to tell my team - kinda had to ask Laxus if Natsu was still awake and all." He said. "You okay with that?"

She smiled for the first time since finding out she was dead and nodded. Of course. She knew those four would be able to keep her little secret.

Bickslow grinned at her. "Well, I don't wanna disturb you anymore." He said, probably worried that Natsu would wake up suddenly and find him intruding. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll keep myself open." He promised her.

She put her hand to her chest as she had earlier, thanking him. Who would have known he was actually this kind? - Once again, she regretted not giving him more of a chance, as with Lisanna. He really deserved it.

"All right. See ya 'round, Cosplayer." He said with a wave as he turned around and left the room again.

She went back to sit on the other bed again. She would use this last, remaining time to get her guild-mates to know better. Much better than she did before. Every single one of them. And she would listen to every message given to her. She owed them all that much at least.

* * *

"She will forever stay in our hearts, never to be forgotten. She will always be loved and remembered till our hearts beat no more." Master said, standing with his back to the new grave, a solemn expression on his face. "She will be remembered for her bravery, her unending kindness, her love and most importantly her selflessness."

The tiny, old man blurred in her sight for the umpteenth time that day, as spirit-tears streaked down her cheeks as she looked around at everyone gathered here.

Everyone had shown up. All of Fairy Tail had shown up, big and small alike. The Trimen; Hibiki, Ren, Eve and Ichiya had shown up as well as Jenny, Bob and Nichiya, all mages of Blue Pegasus. Kagura, Millianna, Araña, Beth and Risley of Mermaid Heel too. Lyon, Jura, Chelia, Sherria, Ooba, Yuka and Toby as well, from Lamia Scale. From Sabertooth came Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga, Yukino and even Minerva. Even Quatro Cerberus showed up, Bacchus, Rocker, Warcry, Jäger, Nobarly, Semmes and Goldmine. Crime Sorciere had been summoned too, bringing Jellal, Meredy, Cobra, Angel, Midnight, Racer and Hoteye.

That, and all of her Spirits had summoned themselves for the occasion too. Every single one of them. Virgo, Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Sagittarius, Aries, Gemini, Scorpio, Capricorn, Lyra, Pyxis, Horologium, Plue and Crux… Everyone. Except Loke, for some reason. Perhaps he was not yet fully healed? Or just… Didn't want to come.

All of them had gathered here, at the outskirts of the former Heartfilia Konzern, where her mother and father both rested. But it was not to visit them… This was her funeral. Everyone had gathered here for her… And it meant more than she could ever put into words.

"She will forever live and shine inside of us as the bright light that we know she was." The tiny, old man said clearly in the almost silent clearing. "Her ability to forgive, love and cherish anyone shall not go with her, we shall inherit it and let her live through our actions and hearts." He told them. He turned around and looked at the newest stone. "It is only her body, which has died. Her spirit lives within all of us." He said clearly. He turned around to all of them, facing all the crying, solemn or blank expressions in front of him. "We will all miss her terribly much, but we must not lose our way." He said and looked pointedly at her Spirits and guild. His gaze lingered on Natsu for a while longer, but the Fire Dragon Slayer wasn't even looking up at him. He was just staring blankly forward, at the grave.

Erza stepped forward, standing next to the old man, and put her hands on her hips. "It is as Master says. We mustn't lose ourselves in grief, we must keep going forward." She told all of them firmly.

Mira, although with tears streaming down her face, clapped her hands together and smiled. "Of course. And that's why we will be hosting a party at the guild tonight for anyone who wants join!" She said with a façade showing energy and something akin to happiness.

Everyone seemed to disappear, going back to Fairy Tail to hold a celebration in occasion of her funeral. And she was happy that this was the way they grieved her death. Through partying. They had already cried all their tears out, they had no more to give.

Left behind were Team Natsu and all of her Spirits. One after another, her Spirits vanished. Virgo went to the three people and the Exceed left behind. "It is our wish that you find a proper owner for us, someone of your choosing, who you deem worthy of our keys." She told them and bowed when they all nodded in understanding. "Now then, I must bid you farewell." She said, saluted them and disappeared.

After a moment of shared silence, where they all simply stood and looked at the perfectly cross-shaped stone with the smooth surface, Erza turned to her three remaining teammates. "I believe it is time for us to return to the guild." She commented. Apparently, there was a train they needed to catch.

The knight began walking, fully confident the rest of her team would follow her. And almost everyone did, except Natsu. Natsu hadn't even moved an inch from the place he had been standing throughout the entire funeral. He had just been staring at the stone with her name engraved on it, a completely blank expression on his face. It was completely impossible to read what thoughts were going through his head.

Happy, flying in midair, turned around to look at his best friend, seeing him standing completely motionless at the very same spot. "Natsu." He called out to his friend. For the first time, Natsu looked up and at the blue Exceed with a confused expression, as if he didn't know where he was. "Are you coming?" The blue cat asked, the other two looking back at him, awaiting his reply.

Natsu glanced back at her grave before nodded. "Yeah, I'm coming." He said and tore his body away from the spot he had been standing in and after the team, not glancing back at the graves again as he and the other four disappeared as well.

Lucy sighed and gently grasped the last link connected to… Well, whatever it was. She looked from her mother's to her father's grave, smiling gently at the memories flooding her mind. Finally her eyes landed on her own.

 _Lucy Heartfilia  
767-791_

" _A true fairy"_

That was what had been engraved in the stone. For a moment, she considered tracing it with her fingers, then remembered she couldn't. She couldn't stop the single tear from falling from her eye.

Suddenly a piercing pain erupted from her chest, this one many times more painful than any other she had ever experienced. It spread out to her entire being as the last link was swallowed inside of her, disappearing into nothingness. A feeling of finality settled in her as she let herself be taken away by the blackness and disappeared from this world.

* * *

 **And that's another one down. Except the very last part, I also re-wrote all of this chapter over again, so I hope this one came out good as well! Emotional, I'm sure. Anyway, tell me whatever you think!**

 **So, next week, things are going to take a turn away from this… angsty sadness that it is now. But well, you'll see~**

 **Anyway! Thanks for your already great reception of the story, hope you will keep hanging around!**

 **Of course, thanks to everyone who are reading, following, favoriting and commenting! It is always appreciated**

 **~Line464d**


	3. Chapter 3 - Transition

**Chapter 3 - Transition**

 **This chapter will be quite hard for those of you who have not watched Bleach to understand, but there will be some explanations at the bottom - so please check that out afterwards!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Bleach and Fairy Tail belongs to Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima respectively. Bow to our lord and saviors, everyone!**

* * *

Hungry…  
So very hungry.  
She needed to eat.  
Needed food.

She would do anything for food. But there was nothing around. Nothing that would sate this hunger.

She hissed when her stomach seemed to roar at her for the food it was craving. She knew she couldn't just eat anything, she needed something specific. Something special. Something which wasn't here.

She growled at the fact that what she was craving was so far out of her reach, before setting off at a fast pace in a random direction. If she kept moving and looking, she would find what she was looking for. She knew she would.

Suddenly, she felt what she was needing. It was close by. She set off in a run towards the direction she felt it from, not caring about all the things she wrecked on her way. She couldn't care less about a couple of trees and a few fences - she had found what she was looking for!

On her mad run, she soon spotted a couple of girls ahead. They were looking back - towards her, though not at her - in fear. She didn't care, she just wanted what she needed. And she could feel she was rapidly getting closer to it. Very rapidly.

Her grin only spread even further when she felt it was within an arm's reach of her. Then she felt it getting a little further away. As if it was backing away from her.

She looked down, where she heard a pair of bursts of panicked breathes. The two girls were now right underneath her, looking right ahead in fear as they slowly took fearful steps back.

She couldn't help staring at them. They were so tiny. She could pick either one of them up and easily snap their bones between her fingers. She watched half amusedly as the two kept baking away in fear. Especially because there was nothing here.

Nothing besides her.

A mirthful smirk spread on her face as she took a single step forward, towards the girls. The ground underneath them shook and one of them shrieked before they both turned around and ran away, screaming.

She laughed at how pathetic the both of them were, before she felt what she needed was running off with them.

They had what she needed. She had to get it. She just had to.

She set off after them with a snarl. With their big, pompous dresses and high heels, it was easy enough for her to catch up to them. She reached out with her long, jet-black arms and easily grabbed one of them.

The female screamed in fright, looked down at the black claws, then screamed even louder. "Monster! Let me GO!" She screamed loudly, trying in vain to wiggle her way out of the hold on her.

If it wasn't before, it was definitely an impossible task for the female to escape now, when she tightened her grip on her captive. "You have something I need… Give it to me!" She told her hostage sternly. She really needed it. And she needed it now.

The girl looked up at her fearfully, before she began struggling again, screaming all the while. "Don't eat me! Please don't eat me! I'll give you whatever you want! My father's rich, just name it and you'll get it! Please! Don't-"

She sighed exasperatedly at the constant screeching. Finally, she had had had enough and placed her clawed thumb on the girl's head. She kept pressing down until she heard a snap and the girl went quiet. Finally, some peace.

Now… For the thing she had been waiting for so patiently.

Without a moment's hesitation, she let her inner instincts take over, knowing they would guide her through this effortlessly.

Drawing on her power, she dragged a bluish and opaquely transparent version of her prey out of her.

There it was… What she was craving so desperately. What she deserved.

She opened her moth and ate the thing in front of her unthinkingly, not sparing a single moment to figure out what she was even eating. It didn't matter to her either. It sated her hunger and therefore she ate it.

A wave of power and energy washed through her, making her laugh madly in delight. "More. I need more of this!" She told the world loudly. It was all her mind was filled with. Getting more of that. Much more. As much as she could get.

She looked down when the other girl called for her friend, though she was getting no response.

She dropped the one she had in her hands and looked at the one which was still left with a glint in her eyes. This one… This female had it too. This one had had what she wanted.

It looked like the female had just been getting ready to run, but by the she was already secured in her grip. Feeling the need to shut this one up too, she began squeezing her in her hand. At first, she only screaming and cried louder with every pop, but with a little extra pressure, she quietened as well.

She laughed maliciously as she swallowed the second piece of this delicacy, feeling the surge of power rush through her once again. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She felt so empowered and superior.

This was just her second try, but she already knew she was addicted beyond addiction. She needed this if she wanted to survive. It was a matter of life and death.

She had to get more of this, there was no questioning it.

A laugh erupted from her, when she left a whole cluster of this delicious food. There were at least one hundred! And some were better than others too.

"I can't wait!" She laughed, already excited as she set off in a run. She had already gotten stronger just from those two. What wouldn't a hundred do?

Only five minutes of running brought her to her destination. Her end goal was a small town, bustling with life and therefore people who were carrying the things she so craved.

Ecstasy was already spreading in her at the thought of how she could indulge herself so freely in everything that was laid out before her.

It would be so good! - and no one could stop her.

* * *

During her feast, some of her pray managed to escape her grasp and run off. The number could be counted on one hand though, so she didn't bother giving chase. That would have meant she lost more anyway.

Besides, those people would bring others to her, and that way her feast would continue. Several platoons of people dressed the same way had already been by and tried to get her down. But she won against each of them every time, no matter if they were 10, 20 or 30. And one of them had food which was as good as 10 of the regular ones.

It had been so much fun! She'd gotten so much to eat and so many people to play with. And! She'd gotten so much stronger too.

Now it was an easy feat for her to feel the nearby town, which was several kilometers away. And the group of three approaching her. These ones were strong - they brought quality food with them!

She'd found though - the better the food, the better those people could sense her presence. Many of those which had low-quality didn't even see her at all - even if she was right in front of them! Like those two females the other day and everyone in the town. The ones with higher quality though… She couldn't sneak up on them at all.

It didn't matter though. She caught them too. Actually, those were the ones which were the most fun to play with!

Maybe she could play with these three also? They were close already - almost within this little town which had served as her personal buffet only a pair of days ago. She decided she might as well go and meet them halfway - let the games begin that much sooner.

So with excitement running through her entire being, she dashed ahead, meeting the group just on the town-border. It was a strange group. Two males and a female. One of the males was, nicely put, fat and had the strangest hairdo. The other was basically the polar opposite - tall and lanky. With orange hair, which looked like a pineapple. The female was tiny, even for a human, and had blue hair. Clearly the most normal one out of the three. Strange bunch though. And they were all staring at her, gaping.

"What… Is that?" The fat one asked, looking at her flabbergasted.

"I don't know.." The tiny one stated, quite obviously frightened. "One of Zeref's?" She asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, you're probably right." The lanky one said, pulling a paper out. "It matches the one on the picture though - a cat-like mask with strange marks, almost entirely black, greenish-brown fur on its back and a four-legged creature of some sort." He summed up.

She growled, annoyed with the lack of action. "Enough talking - let's play!" She said hungrily - even more excited to eat now she felt it up close.

"Shit, and it speaks." The lanky one added.

Really annoyed now, she let out a big roar, making the three of them jump back in fear. "Enough!" She swung her hand out, aiming for the lanky one.

However, when it seemed like she'd already caught him, he was suddenly gone. "Back here, you monster!" Someone yelled behind her.

She growled and whirled around, and there he was. Waving at her with a determined expression. When she tried to claw out after the guy angrily, she found her entire arm restricted from moving. Looking down in irritation, she found it wrapped in vines. This had to be the fat guy's doing - his hairdo kinda looked like these things. They looked weak though. These were no problem at all.

With a growl, she easily overpowered the vines, making them snap as she pulled her arm up. Hearing a gasp to her right, she grabbed one of the vines and pulled it up. At the end of it, the fat guy was now dangling, having made the brilliant move to just shoot the vines straight out of his own arm.

"Droy!" What had to be the tiny girl screeched as claws closed around her victim. She was already preparing herself to eat what he had to give. She was soon stopped though, as the female called out behind her again. "Solid Script: Sound!" She called and just as she did, a loud, painful and very constant sound drilled its way directly into her brain, bringing and indescribable headache with it.

Dropping the guy she had had in her grasp entirely, she brought her hand up to the sides of her mask, where her ears usually were. Despite their lack of presence, she still threw her head back and released a pained roar in an effort to drown that agonizing sound out of her head. It didn't work for her.

It didn't take long after that for the sound to disappear again, giving her a chance to relax again. The reason for its disappearance was simple - it had been a desperate decision, which had hurt all of them in the end. Not only her.

What they had managed though, was making her severely pissed at them. She turned around to the female slowly, a snarl bubbling up from her throat. Before the female had the chance to get up from the ground, she picked her up by one arm, letting her hang there painfully.

Having lifted the girl up to her own eye-height, she growled once again to get her attention. "Game's over." She told the female with a snarl. The girl had to be told when she did something wrong.

Besides, she was already getting very hungry again and she didn't want to spare any time any longer. Alas, she opened her mouth, preparing to eat.

Until she was interrupted, that was. "Levy!" The two guys yelled simultaneously. Second later, she received a fierce upper-cut to her chin from a vine and another one wrapping around her occupied arm and squeezing. Put together, this made her loose the grip on the female. Which meant she now fell, only to be caught by the lanky one.

An eye for an eye though, she jabbed out and caught the fat guy in her grip again. Knowing the other two were watching, she did with him as she did her second victim. She squeezed him to silence.

She could hardly even feel his bones at all through all his fat. At some point though, the pressure became too much for his body to handle and he basically popped like a balloon. Crimson red spewed out to all sides in smaller or bigger chunks, painting everything around them in its color.

This way, not only did she have fun, she also didn't have to use any of her powers to pull out her food. She could just eat it without any really effort. Which she then also did.

"Levy.. You need to run." The lanky man said lowly, as she began licking her claws clean. Might as well -those two would probably talk for a while now. And they clearly thought she couldn't hear them. Idiots.

"But… What about you, Jet?" The tiny girl asked her single, last companion. Clearly upset, but was keeping a strong front. Adorable.

"I will distract that thing." He told her determinedly. Oh, a true hero that one.

"No! It'll just kill you!" She was right about that. "I'll stay here and fight with you - I won't leave you like this!" The girl told the guy. This was almost cute. But then, it was a little too cliché. Missing some plot-twists here.

"No!" He yelled loudly at her. "If you do that, we'll _both_ die." He told her somewhat sternly. "This way, you will be able to go back and tell everyone about this thing. All the guilds. This thing is strong." He reasoned, not about to take any arguments.

She grinned and turned around to them, making a point of dropping what was left of the dead body right in front of them. "And how right you are~!" She laughed, readying herself to attack the two. "Your friend just gave me a giant boost!" She told them.

"Levy! RUN!" The lanky one yelled. The girl hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, Jet. You run - you're much faster. It'll just catch me." She reasoned with him. A solid point, really. The guy was about to protest, but the girl had already drawn out her fairy wand. "No. Run, Jet!" She yelled at him.

Clearly disliking the situation, the guy actually set off in a run. Only to trip and fall right as he passed her, the bluish version of him hovering above his body almost teasingly.

"Oh, oops. Guess you weren't fast enough." She laughed before swallowing the food she'd just drawn out. She then turned to the girl, who looked utterly broken as she stared at the dead bodies of her companions - she didn't even resist being picked up. "Now. To eat or not to eat, that's the real question." She said amusedly, giving the girl a valuing gaze. "Hmm.. We can make a deal. If you make sure to bring me stronger and better food to eat and play with, then I will let you live." She offered. This one was no fun anymore anyway, she wanted ones with more spunk in them. Right then, a heavy tear trailed down her captive's cheek. "I'll take that as a yes!" She said, then decided to help the girl out by throwing her in the direction she'd come from.

She snorted when she saw the female picking herself up from the ground slowly, red coating her otherwise white skin. Too slowly. She released another growl of irritation, which then sent the girl running off.

Now she just had to wait for stronger prey to come around.. Maybe she should pay one of those towns a little visit to kill some time while she waited?

* * *

So many strong people had come with so much delicious food for her. Each new group was stronger than the last too. Only a shame they usually only came in small groups, five-six people at most. Still though, each time they got stronger, so did she. Even if they came in smaller potions.

Raiding any small towns wasn't any fun either. Those people didn't change much for her any longer. The small groups were the only ones which were any fun. They were also a _lot_ of fun though.

Her latest meal had consisted of some white-haired girl with some keys - her food was probably the most delicious she'd ever tasted - and a strange guy with a red, feathered hat. Three males and a female had been with them as well, but they'd gotten away with their respective elements, unfortunately. Not unscathed though, she'd gotten the big one's arm and broken a few bones. But no food though.

Either way, the two of them were an awesome meal anyway. And the games before dinner were fun too. The look on the girl's face when she'd stomped on the other guy and his blood had splattered all over her milky skin was wonderful.

And for the first time she could remember, she was stuffed. Her hunger was gone. She could feel some delicious food approaching, but she didn't really care at all. Didn't even want to play with them. It was the same over and over anyway. No challenge.

Alas, when the three people and the flying cat came within her sight, speaking about some carnage, she just turned to them. One split second she was looking at her next victims boredly, the next her sights had darkened completely.

* * *

Blackness… Darknesss.. Saw nothing. Heard nothing. Felt nothing. Was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just like everyone else. Had no purpose. No meaning. No goal. Only did as everyone else… Kept moving forward. Unthinkingly. Mind was blurry.. Muddled. No matter, didn't need it.

Blackness.. And darkness.. She saw nothing else. She heard nothing. She felt nothing. She was nothing. Just like everyone else. She had no purpose, no meaning and no goal. She only followed everyone mindlessly. As she had done for so long. Not that it mattered right now.

Blackness and darkness. That was all she could see. She could only vaguely hear others. Feel their presences. Something she just barely hung on to herself. Just like everyone else. She had no real purpose, meaning or goal. She only followed everyone else because she could think of nothing else to do. Her mind was only just waking up now. That was all right, she didn't need it right now.

Blackness and darkness. That was all everyone else could see. She could see their blank masks and their black bodies. All were the same. She could hear the shifting trees and the sounds within her. Feel everyone around and inside her. She was free, the sole and only victor. She did what no one else did - she broke free. She had a purpose, meaning and goal. She would think for herself and walk her own path. All she had to do was carve that path between everyone else, one that she could make herself.

And she was oh so hungry.

She opened her mouth up, looking hungrily at the one walking ahead of her. And then she let her teeth sink into the black matter at the back of their head, savoring the taste which exploded in her mouth.

No one else reacted, they just kept moving forward as she kept devouring her prey.

She ate.

And ate.

And ate.

One turned to two.

Two to four.

Four to eight.

Never stopping.

Never pausing.

She kept eating.

Unstoppable.

Unnoticed.

Unchallenged.

Each of them, just waiting for her to eat them.

She ate it all.

Everything.

Without fail.

And they kept coming.

And she kept eating.

If she'd paid any attention to others, it might have been unsettling to find the ones surrounding her not even twitching as she ate one from their group. But alas, she couldn't find herself to care as all her attention was on the task at hand - to fill her stomach.

Her supply of food seemed endless and that only spurred her on to devour her victims even quicker. So that she could eat even more.

In her angry frenzy, she hardly even noticed how a strong power radiated from her and soon after consumed her entirely.

* * *

Lucy jolted to her feet instantly as her eyes opened. Something was horribly wrong, she could feel it in her gut.

When she noticed her surroundings however, that feeling was forced to take a back seat. The place she was in looked like a vast desert. Only, the sand was almost white and it wasn't all that warm. There weren't even a single cactus or even a dead tree in sight… Nothing. What was even more ominous though was the fact that despite it being the middle of the night, she could see clearly as if there was daylight.

She couldn't recognize the place at all, she'd never been or heard of this place before. Yet, how had she ended up here? And where was 'here'?

That was when she noticed something even more strange about the whole situation.. She was much closer to the ground than what was normal for her, and… Her body felt different.

She looked down at herself almost fearfully. Expecting the sight of her chest and a pair of feet sticking out, she was instead greeted by only a pair of jet-black paws. And there was a circular hole straight through her right one, right where her guild-mark usually was.

The sight of it made her gasp. What had happened to her? She wasn't even human any longer!

Slowly, she turned to look at the new body of hers, which was now behind rather than under her. And new it definitely was… Generally, she looked like some kind of cat. But not a cat she had ever laid her eyes on before.

What would have been her fur was completely black - just like her ha- no paws. Only, she didn't have fur. She was as smooth as had it been skin. Only things breaking that blackness was the long row of bone-looking things trailing down her back. If anything, it looked like her ribcage had grown out of her body and multiplied. Near the middle of her back, they were longer.

Not only that though, a row of similar ones, just much shorter and so close you couldn't even see the black through it, covered her belly and up to her head, she imagined. And they weren't just smooth either - they were pretty sharp and edged on the top, though this was most obvious with the ones on her back. The same bones also covered her shins, both at her front and hind legs.

And she had a tail.

A tail, which was only formed by those small rib-like bones, all connected to each other. None of the black skin or anything to hold it together. Yet still she could move it. And it honestly looked like a murder-weapon.

She gaped at the sight of herself. What the hell had she become..? Was this what people turned into when they died? Was this place where they all went? How?

As if a bubble burst in her mind, the memories of everything she'd done since that chain disappeared all exploded in her mind. Everything she'd done. Everything she'd destroyed. Everyone she'd… she'd..

Jet and Droy. Rufus and Yukino. Araña, Risley and Beth. The Trimen.. All five of them.. Cheria and Sherry. Almost Levy, even. And so many more she didn't even know the names and faces of.

She wanted to cry, but she could do nothing but stare straight ahead in pure shock. Not even the reflexive retching which would normally follow with such a realization came. She was too shocked to do anything, her mind blanked completely and her body was frozen on the spot.

How… Even if she was pushed to the extreme, she wouldn't do that. Yet.. She had enjoyed herself. Doing all that… It had been nothing but mere games for her. It stood so clear in her mind.

And what was worse, she could feel the same hunger stirring in her again. The hunger which had made her eat hundreds of souls. Her own friends. The hunger which had made her indulge in a dormant bloodlust in her. A bloodlust she never knew she had. A bloodlust she could feel now.

Her past self would have been wanting to take her own life at this point, but her current self just.. Stared at the ground as she processed it all.

Guilt and sadness coursed through her, and she wanted nothing more than to scream out in frustration. She didn't want to kill anyone else. All she knew was that it was good she was confined in this desert, worlds away from anyone she knew. Or anyone at all, really.

She'd barely finished that thought, before she felt a strong and dangerously dark presence come barreling towards her. Was this what her gut had been trying to tell her earlier? If it was, it was to tell her to run, because she would not stand a chance against this person.

She could try to run now… But they had probably already locked on to her by now, so she most likely wouldn't be able to escape anyway. She could also just wait for them to reach her and ambush them. That was a surefire way to die though.

Running it is.

Alas, she set off in a run. It surprised her how easily it came to her to move in this different body, though she obviously wasn't entirely used to it yet. She could only be happy about it though, given the current situation. And even more so, she ran fast. Much faster than she'd thought herself able. She couldn't suppress a grin from spreading on her face when she pushed herself just a little harder and her speed rose even higher. This was pretty fun!

She couldn't resist looking over her shoulder to see how much distance she'd put between herself and the one chasing her. To her horror, she found them right behind her. Their green gaze was fixated on her already, and they were positioning their talons of their humanoid figure from the air, readying themselves to grab her.

Her fright caused her pace to falter and gave them amble time to strike down. She yelped when she felt their claws dig into the flesh of her back, somehow easily avoiding the many ribs. She barely had the time to even register it before she was thrown over on her side forcefully.

She turned her head to see them already ready to strike her again and glared. If nothing else, she'd go down fighting.

When she saw them jabbing their claws down towards her again, she quickly closed her teeth around their shin, keeping them locked there for a moment. If she was careful, maybe she could actually win this.

The idea was soon thrown out the window, when someone yelled at her. "Keep him there!" Someone she couldn't see from her position told her. Clearly male. And clearly quite strong.

The enemy above her heard the yell as well, of course. They looked in that direction, before pointing their finger at her head. "Cero." They simply muttered, before a green beam, aimed straight at her face, flew out.

She quickly released them and curled up on herself to avoid what she knew would have been a fatal blow. It only narrowly missed her head - she could feel the heat radiating from it as it hit the ground. But miss, it did.

She peeked up when she more so felt than heard the beat of her opponent's wings. They took off at a blinding speed moments later. She barely had the time to even blink, when they were soon followed by someone else, who jumped over her and into the air after them. A snap of jaws was heard immediately after, telling her that the one jumping hadn't caught their target.

This was soon proven right. "Damn fucking bat!" They growled, stomping the ground angrily.

She peeked up at the newcomer. Just like her, this person also looking like a feline. They were mostly white, but with black paws and markings on their face and ears. There went a hole through their stomach, just as there was on her paw. And they had angry, blue eyes. Pointed directly at her.

* * *

 **All right~ Then that's over and done with. Who can guess who these last two characters are~?**

 **So, for you guys, who have not either watched or read Bleach, I suggest you go to the wikia page and go look up 'hollows'. Without really spoiling anything, as I hope it was somewhat obvious for those in the know, I can reveal that Lucy went through being an ordinary hollow, to becoming a Gillian (or Menos Grande, as they're also called) and then to becoming an Adjuchas here in the end. - More detailed explanation of each will be included next chapter as well, but yeah..**

 **So, yeah, Lucy basically lost her sense of self throughout the first two stages. That is why I didn't at any point in time refer to her as 'Lucy', just as 'she' or 'her'. Instincts took over and her actual personality was drowned out.  
As for the somewhat short description of her Menos Grande/Gillian-period, well… There was a bit more thought put into that. I didn't just keep repeating the same thing in different ways and all for fun. So, if you don't remember, Gillians are composed of a hundred different ordinary hollow-souls, and they walk around in big groups. Suddenly though, one personality in there will take over the body and suppress the other souls there - that's basically what the repetition-thing was. Lucy fighting her way to the top through all the others. So yeah.  
Then, when she became an Adjuchas, her personality returned to her again, and it was first then she realized what had happened and all that. So yeah.. Make sense?**

 **As for the hollow-hole on her paw. Hollow-holes are usually placed near the heart, as it kind of symbolizes a lack of heart, which they try to fill out desperately one way or another. Hers is at her paw, where her Fairy Tail insignia is, because her heart kinda lies with Fairy Tail.**

 **Furthermore, as a little bonus I suppose, I have had Spanish for three or so years, and Tite Kubo chose a Spanish theme for his hollows. So. Yeah, I can offer some extra translations and info about some things, but will only do this if it is relevant really.  
For example, 'Cero', the attack that was revealed here. As commonly known, it means 'Zero' in Spanish. Not so commonly known though, it also has a meaning in Japanese; 'Hollow Flash'. So not only does the Zero refer to the fact that they're hollows (and hollowed of emotions etc.), it literally says that it is a beam from a hollow.  
Another neat detail is, that for some characters, it has its own color. Ex. Grimmjow's and Ichigo's is a crimson red, Harribel's is a golden yellow and so on and so forth. **

**But yeah.. Hope you enjoyed! And thanks for reading, maybe even commenting, following and favoriting it too!**

 **~Line464d**


	4. Chapter 4 - A New Life

**Chapter 4 - A New Life**

 _ **QUESTION!**_ **So.. It's clear already now, that my chapters tend to be long. So I wanted to hear - how do you all like this? Should I cut down on the length, or is it fine as is? - Can't promise I'll be able to make it much longer than it already is though, so that's not really an option I'm afraid** _ **.. Let me hear what you think!**_

 **Some of you have been mentioning a Fate crossover with Fairy Tail… I'm sorry, but as it looks now, that will not happen as I have no particular interest in the Fate series. So please, stop commenting about it. If you have suggestions or wishes in the future, please refrain from writing about it in a review and instead PM me about it. Thank you very much!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima are the owners of both characters and partly the plotline, not me. Unfortunately. **

* * *

Seeing this other cat-like person's intimidating gaze on her, Lucy quickly jumped up to her feet, ignoring the jab of pain from her back - where the bat-like person had grabbed her. She watched, standing almost completely still as he turned to her fully.

"Didn't I tell you to fucking hold him?" He asked angrily. "You made me lose that damn shithead!" He almost yelled at her.

She furrowed her eyebrows and sent him a glare. "They were going to kill me if I didn't let go - you can't blame me for that." She argued. That one's 'Cero' had been aimed right at her forehead. She'd have been dead if she hadn't moved, that's for sure.

"Like I give a damn." He shot back. Though he seemed to accept the reasoning, it didn't calm his irritation at all. That much was clear when he began walking forward slowly and very threateningly. "Who the hell are you even supposed to be?" He asked.

She inwardly rolled her eyes. Could he really not find a more polite way of asking that question? "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She stated as he kept coming closer.

She was just about to add that she was from Fairy Tail, but then she wasn't sure if that would even change anything at all in her given situation. She didn't have any proof either, since she lost the insignia.

An evil smirk spread on his face as he began circling her slowly. "Well, you see, _Lucy Heartfilia-_ " He licked his lips and teeth like a predator would when they'd found their prey. "Since I didn't get any bats for dinner, I'm now very hungry." He told her, watching her hungrily.

Her mind froze completely at the implications. _Shit._ It took her a fraction of a second, before she began circling around him as well - she would not let him get behind her. Now.. She just had to think. And quickly.

"Let me at least know who you are first." She said. A desperate attempt to at least give herself a little more time to come up with something. Because she definitely couldn't run away from him. He was probably faster than she was, especially when she was injured. And she couldn't fight him either. She could feel he was much stronger than she was. The difference between them was as big as it had been between herself and Gildarts. She wouldn't win a match between the two of them at any point in time.

Clearly realizing what she was doing, he sent her a look which basically screamed 'you really wanna do this?'. Then he decided to play along. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez." He told her, copying her. He was literally just playing around with her now. He was that certain of his victory. Not that she wasn't.

She growled at herself in frustration. She couldn't even come up with anything to ask him now. Not to mention how to come out of this situation alive. What the hell could she even do in this situation?

Seeing that she didn't even have any more questions to fire off at him, he stopped up and turned towards her, smirking "And I've gotten a sudden craving for cute, little kittens." He warned her, before springing into motion. He moved much faster than she remembered from before, because suddenly, she found herself lying on the ground painfully. He was standing with both of his front paws planted firmly on her side, squashing her between the paws and the ground. "Say your last words, Kitten." He hissed, his mouth and sharp teeth hovering near her neck threateningly.

"You don't want to kill me, Grimmjow." She told him with as steady a voice as she could. She could feel the grains of sand being pressed into her still open wounds and it hurt quite a lot. And she couldn't let this guy know that or how afraid she actually was. Because her words had been a bluff.

He looked at her almost amusedly, as if he knew she was in trouble still. "Oh? And why the hell shouldn't I?" He asked. She had about point one second to tell him, before he tore her throat open.

She said the first thing that popped up in her mind. "Because you need me." She told him quickly. His skeptical look urged her to continue. "Against the bat, you'll need me." She said. She had no idea what she was saying at this point - she was just desperately clawing for anything that'd let her keep dear life.

Grimmjow put more of his weight into his front paws, pressing her deeper into the ground and making her hiss in pain. He leaned closer to her ear, growling. "I do not need someone who's fucking weaker than I am against him. Do you think I'm a fucking retard?" He snarled at her, even more furious than before.

Great. He thought she'd said he was weak and unable to handle it himself. Just what she needed. Now how did she get herself out of this one?

Her head whirled through a thousand thought every second as she was looking for something - anything - that might help her situation. "Not to fight him. I meant.." She trailed off, her thoughts spinning around even faster until it settled on something. "As bait." She concluded.

He looked down at her, surprised and confused with her words. "Bait?" He repeated as he probably considered the idea. Luckily, with him being momentarily distracted, some of the pressure was released from her chest and she could breathe a little more properly again.

"Yeah." She confirmed, deciding to give him a little more reason to let her live. "Like just now, you can use me to keep them restrained. Then you can kill them." She suggested. "Or make them chase me, then ambush them from behind." She added, seeing that he still wasn't entirely convinced yet. And her window of opportunity was rapidly closing on her. "You can kill me afterwards too… So I won't let go even if I know I'll die if I don't." She told him a little hesitantly. If he accepted that, she would be bound to it until she found some way to get out of it. But a tiny survival rate was better than none at all.

Grimmjow looked down at her again. His anger had dissipated quite a lot and was instead replaced by a thoughtful expression. "So basically, you just want me to wait with killing you?" He asked for clarification.

She nodded lightly. "Yes. In return, I'll help you take down the bat. And anything in between." She told him. She was basically agreeing to being his personal slave, but… If she could find a way to escape, then it might not be her doom.

He snorted, then stepped down from her. "Never thought I'd see anyone around here give up their dignity so damn quick." He said patronizingly. It didn't really hit her though - in her eyes she had long since lost that when she killed members of her own and other guilds. "But all right, Kitten. You'll be my bait." He finally agreed, a smug look already on his face.

She would have thanked him, but that look told her that she wouldn't have anything to thank him for soon enough.

* * *

And right she definitely was. The very first thing he decided she was to do was to go hunting. Both to get food and to give him a chance to figure out what she could do. And when she'd asked what they were hunting, he'd simply replied with 'food'.

Since then, none of them had said a word. And they'd walked for what felt like hours in this entirely empty desert. In the middle of the night, no less. The silence was slowly getting on her nerves.

Grimmjow looked like he knew where he was going, but she had her suspicion that he actually didn't. "Where ar-" She didn't get any further before being cut off.

"Shh!" He told her exasperatedly, his gaze pointing straight ahead firmly.

It only got her irritated too. "Wh-" She didn't get any further this time either, because he smacked her roughly with his tail.

"Shut up!" He hissed angrily, sending her a sharp look, before stopping up when their heads reached just above the top of the hill. That was when she understood his irritation with her speaking - he'd found what he was looking for. "Food."

She peeked down at what was going to be their prey and her test of strength. What appeared to be a stag in brown, white and gray was standing down there, probably deciding where to go now, from the looks of it.

She frowned as she looked down at it. This stag… The way it was looking around like that was proof of higher intelligence. So.. Was it actually a person just like Grimmjow and herself? And the bat?

Something clicked in her mind then. Grimmjow had earlier said he'd wanted to eat her and that bat, so.. In this place, did everyone eat each other? That was horrible..

And exactly what her current companion wanted her to do. He looked at her, then nodded his head towards the stag, giving a clear message of what he wanted her to do. She looked at him, a little disturbed, but there was clearly no sympathy to be gained from him whatsoever.

She sighed quietly, then began sneaking forward as slowly and carefully as she could - so as to not draw the stag's attention. She kept her belly close to the ground - just as real cats would when they'd found their prey.

Though.. From there, she had no idea what she was even doing. What was she even supposed to do if she caught it? How would she do that? It's not like they could even cook the stag - what with the lack of fire and thumbs. And wouldn't this be counted as cannibalism?

All of these thoughts flew through her head fast enough for her concentration to slip from her foe for a moment and making them turn to her in surprise. She didn't have to look back to know Grimmjow was facepalming right now at her pathetic attempt.

Contrary to what she'd thought, the stag didn't run off, frightened. It just stood there considering what to do. Considering if it should fight back. Assessing her.

She noticed its gaze flickering to her back, where her wound would still be obvious and screaming 'I'm weak'. Because afterwards, it took a position which was clearly ready to fight.

Realizing the easy short-cuts had been taken away from her, she readied herself for the battle to come. She still had no idea how she was going to go about doing this.. She would just have to rely on whatever instincts she had - just as she'd seen Natsu do it time and time again. And now she didn't doubt she had them too with all that she'd done..

This was just another one of the countless enemies she had faced these last few years.

Knowing that her opponent was waiting for her to do something and wouldn't budge until she did, Lucy jumped forward with her front claws directed at the stag. It easily stepped to the side, evading her completely. Having foreseen this, she quickly whipped out her spiky tail. The spikes caught on and drew two bloody lines over their body.

As she turned around to face her opponent again, ripping the spikes out in the process, she flinched at the whine they released. It was more human than animal. And it was painful to know she caused it. But she had to. If she wanted to survive, she had to do this. If she didn't do this properly, this stag would kill her, and if not, then Grimmjow would. And then he would also kill the stag either way. So she had to do this properly. No matter what she felt and what her conscience was trying to tell her.

She jumped forward again, just like she did before. This time though, instead of dodging, her foe got ready to block her attack with their big antlers. She landed almost straight on top of its head, but quickly managed to get a paw being their white and masked face, digging her claws down again. This made the stag try to buck her off wildly, but Lucy decided to use it to her advantage.

Using the force it sent her off and up with when it reared up, she managed to land right at their back - with her tail swishing right between their antlers. Realizing what was to come, she once again dug her claws into her opponent, this time not so much to bring pain as it was to keep her balance.

And as expected, it'd gotten infuriated by the unwelcome rider, and began jumping around randomly, trying to get her off their back.

It was a very double-edged sword for it though, because while it meant Lucy had to fight to not fall off with tooth and nail, she only gripped harder onto it in an effort to do this. Lucy's balance was off, but in return, their back was already smeared in the strangely green-colored liquid which was its blood.

Seemingly pooling out their last trump-card, they reared up again, and then let themselves fall backwards. In her surprise once realizing what was going to happen, Lucy let go of her opponent. But by then it was already too late. She was brutally squashed between it and the ground. She couldn't even express the pain she was in as all the air had been pushed out of her lungs in one fellow swoop.

She felt the stag getting up, clearly not as affected by the rough landing as she was. Actually, they got up only turn around to her threateningly and a hungry look on their face, their pointy teeth bared. Meanwhile, Lucy was still struggling to breathe. It felt like everything in her had been completely broken.

The stag snorted as it looked down at her. "You should have known not to bite off more than you could chew." It said patronizingly, before rearing up on its hind legs a third time, readying the final blow.

A flare of sinister power, exceeding both Lucy's and the stag's many times over, had them stopping what they were doing entirely. Lucy barely caught the terrified look the stag sent in the direction of the dangerous flare, then sprinted off in the opposite direction. Even though she was fully aware of who had sent that flare of power out, she couldn't help shaking a little in fear. Maybe that was exactly the reason why she was.

Grimmjow came trotting down to her from where he had been hiding, an unreadable look on his face. She had absolutely no idea what was going to happen now - had he saved her so that he could tell her she was pathetic ad then kill her himself or was he going to let her live?

He stopped next to her and watched her weakly getting to her feet for a moment, before finally saying something. "It really wasn't a great display." He told her bluntly, making her wince at the inevitable doom she knew was coming for her. "But considering your opponent was somewhat stronger than you, I suppose it's all right. But only that and no more." He told her firmly.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She was well aware that that fight in no way had been impressive and that she still needed to get used to this new body of hers and the lack of magic, but it was nice to know her opponent had actually been stronger than her.

And it was also nice to know she passed Grimmjow's test - even if it wasn't with flying colors.

She sent him a tiny smile as she continued to struggle with her weakened and shaky legs. "Thank you." She said, not knowing what else she should say and he had just saved her life, so it was appropriate.

He only grunted. "Don't thank me yet, Kitten. You still have a lot of fucking work to do before you can have even the slightest chance of catching that damn bat's attention." He told her. She already hated his new nickname for her - he really made the difference between them and their positions painfully obvious. But she also knew that if she dared mentioning it, then he'd just use it even more. He was just that kind of person.

Besides that, she had already figured she would need to work hard if she wanted to stay alive in this new world. I had been clear right from the beginning, when the bat attacked her for absolutely no reason, then again when Grimmjow met her with such animosity and finally in the battle just now. It was almost like it was all driven by 'survival of the fittest'. Surely it couldn't be like this everywhere. That'd just be too much.

He sighed in what could only be exasperation, when she finally got on her feet, giving him a view of her ever-worsening back, which she had no doubt was now bleeding profusely. "All right, you clearly need some food if you're gonna be done regenerating before next damn year. And you're also too damn weak to do anything about it yourself." He grumbled, shaking his head at her. "Just.. Wait here, Kitten. I'll be back in a second." He said before literally disappearing right in front of her.

"Okay then, it's not like I've got much of a choice though." She huffed, already annoyed with the guy. On the other hand though, she probably wouldn't survive this place if it wasn't for him, so she couldn't even run off now she had the perfect opportunity. And if she didn't survive all this… Well, then there wasn't a chance of her ever seeing her family and Natsu again. If there was even the slightest possibility that she might just see how they were doing, she would have to fight with everything she had to do just that… Till her last breath, as Erza said.

* * *

Grimmjow kept pushing himself forward with his sonido, having caught a target with his pesquisa already. While he enjoyed hunting more than anything else, hunting for someone else robbed all the fun out of it. But he figured he'd have to for now. That little kitten he'd picked up could possibly become an asset. Despite not knowing anything about her, he still knew she was pretty much newly-hatched, yet she'd still had the guts to face off against a Vasto Lorde - even if it wasn't really her own choice.

And he could honestly admire that, if nothing else.

She was still an entirely lost kitten though. It was so painfully obvious in her battle against that stag. She wasn't at all used to the feline body she'd been put in yet and seemed to have a way too soft heart.

But she had potential. Potential and enough guts and wits to strike off a deal with him. It wouldn't be long before she got used to her new form and with his help he didn't doubt she'd get over her mushiness and become much stronger.

She was a strange one though. A Hollow - an Adjuchas no less - and then seemed to be hesitant, if not afraid, to kill. She could have easily gone for the throat several times in that battle earlier. But that was just a quirk she'd have to get over.

Before that though, he'd have to make sure to get something for her to eat and then get back to her before she was eaten by someone else. That would kinda destroy the fun he'd have the next long time.

He didn't have to run very far before an unfortunate victim came under his radar. They weren't exactly strong, but it would have to be enough to start off with.

While he didn't feel the need to sneak up on them, he decided to suppress his reiatsu just a tad. They'd probably run to all hell before he even came within a hundred meters of them if he didn't.

He also dropped the sonidoing, instead opting to run the rest of the way. It took him no time before he could see the ugly thing which he would soon kill. He didn't slow down in his approach but instead ran a little faster. Might as well have it done and over with as quick as possible.

Whatever the hell the thing was, it soon also noticed his approach. Stupid as it was, it also began running straight at him, only speeding up its imminent death.

The distance between them was covered in no time and right before he came within the thing's range, he jumped up. Landing elegantly on its back, pretty much just copying what the little kitten had done earlier only much better, he turned around and dug his claws down into the base of its neck. He then immediately bit down as well, before it began attempting to throw him off.

He took a short moment to savor the feel of its flesh between his teeth and the taste of its blood hitting his tongue. Unfortunately, this meal was not for him to eat. He bit down just a little harder - ignoring the creature's cries, before tearing a chunk of flesh off the creature's throat. It left a gaping hole, which soon began spouting blood all over the place.

The thing gurgled a little in both anger and pain before finally going silent and collapsing on the ground. He sighed at its pathetic display as he swallowed the chunk he'd had in his mouth and once again bit into it. Chances were this thing was going to wake up if given enough time - this blow wasn't a killing one after all - so it was smartest to get it back as soon as possible.

While sonidoing back, he made sure to keep watch of his surroundings. He really didn't want to have to fight again - how'd he get the other kill with him back again? And when he was carrying one kill with him like this, he was basically a two-in-one gift in the eyes of some.

Luckily - for them - he managed to get all the way back without meeting anyone else. And the food was also still fresh.

He really couldn't help himself when he sonido'ed up right next to the little kitten and dropped his luggage promptly beside her. It made her jump in both surprise and fright. Oh yes, he was going to have fun this next long time.

"Mavis…" He faintly heard her mutter as she clearly struggled to get her heart back into the right pace again. Mavis? What the hell was that? "Don't scare me like that!" She seemingly ordered him with a raised voice.

Grimmjow only laughed at her expense. "Better get used to it." He grinned amusedly. "Dinner's served, Kitten." He teased. He was well-aware of her growing hatred for that nickname. Which only made it all the more fun to use.

She grumbled under her breath, definitely over him, before her sight fell on her current dinner. A clear look of disgust spread on her face, as he had expected it would.

"You should eat it before it wakes up." He teased her as he lay down on the ground and began licking his teeth and lips for any excess blood from carrying the creature all the way here. He let himself enjoy the taste of it for a moment, before casually cleaning his claws as well. "It's always such a damn hassle when they wake up while you eat them." He continued. It was true though - it was a hassle.

She actually physically jumped away from the blackish lump in front of her. "WHAT?! They're still alive?!" She basically shrieked at full volume. He was pretty sure his ears took some serious damage from that.

He looked at her with a raised, nonexistent brow. "Of course. That way it still tastes fresh." He explained, now getting slightly annoyed with her hesitance to eat. They'd get nowhere really fucking fast if she didn't start eating soon.

Her gaze flickered up to his from the Hollow, discomfort clear in her eyes. It only got worse the more she stared at the kill in front of her. "Grimmjow, I… I can't eat this." She slowly told him, her gaze still locked on the unconscious Hollow in front of her. "I can't eat another person…!" She told him seriously as she looked up at him again.

He growled lowly, getting on his feet. "Okay, now you fucking listen here, Kitten." He said angrily, towering over her. "Here in Hueco, you fucking eat or fucking get eaten." This fact seemingly surprised her, but he couldn't care less. It was about time she accepted this. "And right now, you listen to me when I tell you to eat that fucker, all right? They're not some fucking person, they're your prey. You got that?" He asked her, noticing how he had lost control of how his reiatsu moved in his anger, but couldn't be bothered to fix it right now. "If you don't eat them, then I'll eat them _and_ you. If you can't even eat, you're of no damn use to me, understand? I will kill the shit out of you if you don't eat _right now_!" He threatened her, his voice gradually growing in volume with every word.

He loved the way she curled in on herself in fear as she stared up at him with wide eyes. Clearly scared of him after his outburst. As she should be. They weren't going to become buddies just because he hadn't killed her yet and had brought her something to eat. She was still a tool for him to use. Right now, he was just sharpening that tool so it could be of use to him at all.

"Now. Eat your food." He ordered, looking from her to the Hollow. He was not going to sit down or look away until she had begun eating.

She kept looking up at him for a moment, before he growled exasperatedly. She then turned her gaze to the Hollow stiffly. It was very hesitant and slow, but she finally stuck her snout down to the open throat, where he had bit down on it earlier. He watched silently as she first sniffed it, then wrinkled her nose. After considerable time to pull herself together, she finally tryingly let her teeth sink into the soaked, fresh Hollow-meat. It was only a bite, but he watched intently as she chewed it and then swallowed.

He almost snorted at the look on her face. It clearly tasted much better than she had expected it to, but then she was also clearly uncomfortable with that fact. Soon enough though, she also took the second and third bite of the feast in front of her. From where he stood, he could actually more or less see the punctures in her back closing themselves up.

Satisfied, he went back to what he was doing before - cleaning his claws. It was no wonder she found it so delicious - it would still be quite a while till she could take down a Hollow of that caliber herself. So she'd better savor it.

He glanced up at her again. Though for some reason a bit more 'lady-like', she was now eating the food with a vigor resembling that of any other Hollow. Some mental hesitance still blocked her though.

Why'd she have that hesitance? - the question bugged him a lot. Because somehow, she'd gone from an ordinary Hollow to a Gillian. And you could only do that through eating enough human souls. Then, she also went from Gillian to Adjuchas, where she was now. And to do that, she also had to eat other Hollows. So why had it become a problem now?

He could understand her being a green-horn and all that - he couldn't use his body properly in the start either. But unlike her, he never had a single problem with killing and eating. No other Hollow he knew of had that kind of problems. It was simply impossible. They'd get annihilated instantly in this environment. That's why there weren't any of them her.

Except her, apparently.

And even the way she ate it. Though she clearly enjoyed it, she really ate it without even dirtying her own goddamn mouth. And something in her whole posture was so conflicted. What the hell kinda Hollow was she even?

It was probably just because everything was new to her though. Everyone's memories as anything other than Adjuchas or above were either blurry as hell or completely gone. So that might explain some of it. It was still unnatural though. But something she'd have to get used to if she wanted to survive this place.

She'd soon eaten all up and then he told her they'd find some place to go and get some well-deserved - at least on his part - rest. This place was way too out in the open. And he knew there were quite a few caves around in this place. Alas, the two set off in a slow run, with her following him to the nearby cave.

This walk didn't pass in complete silence either though. "Uhm… Grimmjow?" She muttered behind him, gaining his attention. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked somewhat nervously. His outburst had clearly made an impression. Good. He nodded and looked ahead again, turning only an ear towards her. "You mentioned something about this place earlier… Hueco, I think you called it?" She asked.

He'd figured this question would come at some point. That girl was so clueless it was ridiculous. And he had no doubt it would be annoying as hell very soon.

"Yeah. Hueco Mundo. That's what this place is called. You'll only find creatures like us hanging around here. Pretty fitting, huh?" He asked rhetorically and continued before she even got a chance to form any sort of reply to that. "Then there's the 'good guys' in the world of the dead - the Shinigami from Soul Society. No creativity in that name though." He said almost patronizingly. They really couldn't come up with anything better than that, it was pathetic. "And then there's Earth, of course. The land of the living and all that." He finished, making a brushing motion with his tail, signifying the end of that topic.

He gave her a moment to swallow all the new information. He faintly heard her muttering about Earth, but he couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

As expected, after a moment of mulling over that, the next question presented itself. "'Creatures like us'?" She quoted him questioningly.

"Hollows." He simply relied. When he was met with utter silence, he looked back at her, only to see pure confusion shining from her expression. "You know, us poor souls the Shinigami didn't find the time to save?" He asked. Her expression didn't change. "Really?" He then asked exasperatedly. She was even more clueless than he'd initially thought. How could she not even know what she was? "Okay, this talk'll have to wait till we reach that cave. It isn't far away now." He told her. This could possibly become a long, long night.

Soon enough, they reached said cave. It wasn't too big and it was really only by chance he'd found it the first time. But that was just why it was good. And since he could suppress his reiatsu even as he slept, other Hollows were unlikely to waste too much time hunting for them. They'd seem like two new ones - hardly a meal for any Hollow whose senses could reach them anyway. Either way, it was better than having to camp out in the open.

He got her down in it first, then made sure the entrance was fairly well hidden before also entering himself. He turned to her with a suppressed sigh, his eyes already used to the completely darkness. "So.. Hollows." He said, still struggling to figure out where to start. From the beginning, he decided. She probably didn't know anything anyway. "Basically, we're dead humans from the living world." He said as he got comfortable on the opposite side of her. Judging by her expression, she already knew this, so that was always something. "More specifically, people who stayed around longer than they should have, because we weren't quite done with life. We got this chain on our chest, and when it ran out, we became Hollows." He explained. And it was first after that that their memory would begin.

She nodded slowly - strangely enough with an almost sad expression. As if she was remembering something. Which was impossible. It was probably just the thought of it though.

"Unluckily for them this doesn't happen to every hobo-ghost out there. Some of them, don't know how many, are brought to Soul Society by one of the Shinigami before that chain runs out. Now that's a boring afterlife." He snorted, saying the last part mostly to himself. Over there, there wasn't really anything to compete about other than moving up in ranks. Anything else was worthless bullshit.

She didn't seem to react much to the comment though. "So what makes… Hollows any different from Shinigami?" She asked him curiously. She was clearly listening with rapt attention to what he was saying. He could probably tell her some random crap and she'd believe it if he kept a straight face.

Nonetheless, he answered truthfully. "Well, for one we have to consume others to get stronger. If we don't, we just regress and get weaker. They just have to train and believe in some mushy friendship-is-magic shit and they get stronger." He replied, almost laughing at the annoyed look she was wearing. She was literally an open book. "Other than that, they have much more human-like forms than anyone you'll see around here. We're more beast-like - but that's also pretty important when we have to hunt and eat each other. Who the hell wants to always rely on a stick of a sword, when you can get claws like these?" He asked and flexed said claws.

She didn't answer this question either. "Anything else that separates you Hollows and the Shinigami you can think of?" She asked him.

He glanced up at her amusedly. "Don't forget, you're a Hollow too, Kitten." He reminded her, then went silent for a moment as he thought. "Yes. We Hollows can evolve several times and get a boost of strength through it - Shinigami only got their different releasing-techniques to momentarily boost them. Otherwise it's something they're either 'born' with or train to get. As for the releasing-techniques, they can only do that if they've trained themselves enough. Many don't even reach the last one - Bankai. The other one is called Shikai I think. Most of the stronger ones can do that easily." He explained. And before she could even ask the question, he answered. "Hollows can evolve three times in total, and each time, we get an insane boost and a whole new, stronger form to kick ass with." He told her.

At this point, she'd also placed herself comfortably on the ground as well while she listened to what he was telling her.

"First, you're an ordinary Hollow, don't know if you can remember that. The forms then are very individual, though usually just some sort of black blop with a mask and hollow-hole - like the ones on my back and your paw. We keep either fragments or the entire mask and the hole no matter which form we take - it may change, though." He kept explaining, having gotten into a flow of sorts now. "When you've eaten enough souls from the humans around you - usually mostly dead, hobo-souls though - you become a Gillian. Or Menos Grande. Whatever you prefer to call it. They're from the Menos class and basically all look exactly the same; giant, black and with a long, white nose on their masks. They're a mass of hundreds of different hollow souls. The most dominant one will take over that huge, fucking body of theirs at some point and begin eating everything around them until they evolve again and reach the second Menos-class - the Adjuchas form. That's where the both of us are right now." He told her, taking a little moment to breathe.

She seemed genuinely surprised by this - probably at the thought of being such a high class. Well, instinct was pretty much the only thing you needed in the two earlier forms, the mind and personality first returned with the Adjuchas form. So, as long as your instincts were strong enough, you'd be able to push through easy enough.

"Yeah, so as you can see, we also have our own individual looks, usually even more different than those of the ordinary Hollows. And not just black blops." He said, then thought back to his latest victim. "Well, not all of us." He shook his head and continued his explanation. "Finally, there is the third and last Menos-class form - the Vasto Lorde. That one's even more rare for us than Bankai is for the Shinigami. Only a tiny handful of Hollows has gotten it and no one really knows how to get there. Here, you're also a sort of humanoid again, but with some different features from your Adjuchas form." He finished off. "Of course, these guys are also insanely powerful - so I suggest you run if you ever see one." He warned her. Well, at least until they find the right one.

She nodded slowly, having all the new info processed in her head as quickly as she could. "Okay…. Thanks for the warning." She said absently as her mind probably worked overtime.

He decided to give her a moment and dropped his chin on the paw towards her. Well, it was a lot to explain, but once you got started, it was easy enough at least. He only hoped her curiosity would be sated through all this, 'cause he didn't feel like doing this again. It was a waste of time and annoying as hell to do. It'd have to be done though, it was pretty much vital to surviving.

Quicker than expected, she seemed to have worked through everything. "What else do you know about the Shinigami?" She asked. This one had a serious thirst for knowledge - and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad yet.

"Only that they divide themselves into 13 different groups - the Gotei 13 - each with a different field. Assassination, for example, or healing. Got a lot of other stuff too. I just don't care enough to find out what." He admitted, playing a little with a loose pebble. "That and they have a hierarchy in each of them, where the strongest is called a 'captain' and the second in command is called a 'lieutenant'. Strength-wise, the lieutenant is just about early Adjuchas-level - like you. The captains are closer to being late Adjuchas. None of them are strong enough to take down a Vasto Lorde, though. They'd be slaughtered within 10 second." He told her with somewhat of a grin. Those idiots were so inferior.

She nodded. "All right… So how do I know if one of them is a captain..?" She asked him with a strange expression on her face.

He thumped with his tail once, signaling his exasperation with her constant questions. "By their reiatsu." He told her plainly. That much should be obvious. Except she was gaping like a dead fish. "It's also called Spiritual Pressure, and since you're now dead and as strong as you are, you can feel it in everything - living or dead." He told her. When she still looked confused, he tried doing it differently. "Okay, focus on me now." He let a bit of his power shine through the suppression he was keeping. Her eyes widened as she felt it and he drew it back. "That was my reiatsu. Or part of it. I got enough to manipulate with it like that." He explained.

She nodded again. "Yeah, you did it too with the stag." She reminded him. "Isn't there.. Some other way to recognize captains though?" Strange so curious she was, almost like she expected to meet some at some point or something.

He grunted and nodded. "One other, yeah. They usually wear some white coat or whatever over their black hakama. Pretty sure their number is somewhere on it too." He said, then stopped talking when he saw she seemed to have turned into stone.

She was staring unblinkingly at him with wide eyes of realization. As he thought, she'd seen a Shinigami before. Not so strange though, it was basically impossible not to when you got stronger. They were bound to notice you at some point. Looked like she'd also met a captain though, such a privilege.

He turned away and closed his eyes. "It's about time we get some rest. You take the first two hours, then wake me and we switch." He told her before drifting into that light sleep he'd long since perfected.

* * *

 **So that's that. How many had long since figured it was Grimmjow Lucy met last chapter? And how many of you were surprised to find it to be him?**

 **But yeah, a lot of explaining has been done in this chapter. Most of you should already know this though, but I thought it nice to have brushed up on - or for those who have yet to watch/read Bleach, learn. And Lucy needed to be told, so well, there's that.**

 **The little 'joke' Grimmjow made about 'Hueco Mundo' being a more creative name than 'Soul Society' is basically because Hueco Mundo means Hollow World in Spanish. And there are only Hollows in that world. Despite that, it's 'hollow' in the sense that there's nothing there but a vast, empty desert. And then the fact that the 'people' there are somewhat hollowed of emotions and anything else you'd call human. In case you were wondering.**

 **If there is anything you guys are confused about, then don't hesitate to ask! I'll do what I can to explain.**

 **Thanks for reading, favoriting, following and of course, commenting! Love all the response I'm already getting!**

 **~Line464d**


	5. Chapter 5 - Memories

**Chapter 5 - Memories**

 **Thanks for the replies to my question last week - I'll keep the chapters as long as they are currently, as you asked for. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Sorry to disappoint, but no, I am not the owner of either Bleach nor Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Getting used to life in this world was far more difficult than Lucy had initially expected it to be. First part of the struggle was this new body of hers. Her ease with moving the first day must have been beginner's luck or simply her instincts keeping her alive, because recently it had felt all wrong. She'd hardly even been able to lift her tail off the ground - it just felt that foreign to her. Literally felt like she'd gotten a whole new limb she hadn't had before. Which… Was basically what it was.

And it was also clear within a very short amount of time of her getting used to it again that it Grimmjow hated his current predicament. But she had somehow survived and now a whole week had passed since her arrival here. And she was still struggling with her tail sometimes.

She really missed Fairy Tail though and her old life back in Magnolia. Yes, there were a lot of grand battles and some life-threatening missions, but that life was still calm in comparison to the constant intensity and fear for her life that she felt here. Always on the move, always on guard. Never knowing if you'd suddenly be attacked or the very real possibility of dying in a battle against another Hollow. And that was not even mentioning getting used to kill. Even if it was for the sake of surviving.

She just couldn't get used to that. To the thought of taking someone else's life. It tore at her heart every time she or even Grimmjow did it - though he quite clearly had no problem with it. But she just… Couldn't get used to it, no matter how many times she was forced to.

But she did it nonetheless. She hated it, but she had to. Even if she tried not to, she knew Grimmjow would either force her to anyway or just straight up kill her. And her own hunger for it would probably drive her to do it as well if she got seriously deprived.

Eating the victims afterwards was even more difficult. She was directly eating a dead body…! But at the same time.. It just tasted so good she couldn't stop herself once she got started. It was the best she had ever tasted and the boost she got afterwards was incredibly addictive.

And Grimmjow constantly teasing her about it didn't help at all. Though.. Once in a while it was what made her deal the last blow or take the first bite. His anger the first day also kept her going.

Since then, he hadn't had a similar outburst. He'd stated how irritating her hesitation to kill and eat was many times - not to mention her slow rate at getting used to her feline form. A ton of times, actually. Every day, really. Yet, he'd done nothing more than that.

Generally, she'd found he was all right companionship, compared to what it probably could have been. He had a strong hunger for power and would love nothing more than to hunt and fight all day if he could. It seemed to be his favorite pass-time. It was especially clear when he was in the middle of it - he sort of just lit up. And laughed maniacally throughout sometimes too.

Unfortunately, all of that was also followed up by a certain degree of bloodlust and sadistic tendencies towards his prey - but that had been exactly what had saved her time and time again.

Well, it wasn't so strange he loved to do this, he was incredibly good at it. And he knew he was. And was very proud of it too. Often also quite rude about it. But then again, if you can't brag about something you're good at, then what could you brag about? She was sure he'd agree with her.

Recently she'd begun relaxing a little more in his presence as well. It was already clear he wouldn't kill her if she just delivered somewhat satisfying results. And she was confident she could manage that at the very least. She sometimes imagined him as Gajeel, they had somewhat similar personality-traits after all, so that made it a little easier.

Speaking of Gajeel.. He'd also been by her room in the infirmary back then. She could still remember the Grimmjow expression he had been wearing, tinged with a bit of sadness.

* * *

" _Hey, Bunny-Girl, sorry to disturb you." Gajeel slowly said as he closed the door behind him softly. His crimson gaze was fixed on her corpse on the bed, which had now turned ghostly pale._

 _Lucy, a little surprised at his entrance, jumped down from the bed she'd been perched on, looking at him with a confused frown. While she'd talked and had fun with him before, even considered him as one of the people in the guild she was somewhat close to, he wasn't exactly the sentimental type. Yet, here he was._

 _He scratched the back of his head rather awkwardly. "Yeah, I know it's weird for me to be here, but I just wanted to say something too, y'know?" He said rhetorically, stepping a little closer. "Damn, this feels weird." He mumbled to himself, putting a slight smile on her ghostly face. "I just wanted to say sorry." He finally said._

 _She tilted her head and looked at him softly, confusedly. Now, what was this all about? What'd he have to apologize for? She said nothing and just listened curiously to what the Iron Dragon Slayer had to say._

" _Little late about it, I know, but… Well… I guess I'm sorry for the way I treated you back then." He said and before she could even begin to wonder what he was talking about, he had already answered. "You know, when I was with Phantom Lord."_

 _Ohh.. That. Yeah. She remembered that. It was a long time ago and she had long since forgiven him for it, and he knew that, so why was he bringing it up now?_

 _He looked around a little awkwardly. "I just… Never got around to say it, even though it's… Deserved." He said, muttering the last part lowly. "You were one of the people I hurt the most and still you were one of the first people to forgive me and all that." He said, still managing to reign in his emotions. Unlike her. "So yeah I just wanted to say thanks and I'm sorry. I didn't even get the chance to repay you properly."_

 _She smiled at him softly, though he was keeping his attention on her other self. While she knew he regretted it all deeply she hadn't expected to get either apology or gratitude. Yet, she got both._

 _She watched as he moved towards the exit again. "Oh yeah. I promise to take good care of the Shrimp for ya don't worry about that." He said and turned to look at her again. "And I'll also get a fight outta Flame Brain soon enough, just you wait and see." He said, laughed and turned around and left the room._

 _As he disappeared, she was pretty certain she heard a 'I'll miss you, Bunny-Girl' faintly from the open door._

* * *

She smiled softly as the memory fluttered through her mind. It was about then that a rumor of sorts had appeared in the guild as well - that she was there, watching over them and listening to all their messages. Apparently many of them had felt strange shivers, and then dubbed it to be her. Not that she minded.

"Hey, why're ya smiling like some creep over there, Kitten? Focus on finding something we can hunt." Grimmjow called out to her, forcing her out of the thoughts she'd been caught up in.

She looked at him, disoriented for a moment, before shaking the memories off her. "Sorry, I'll get to it." She apologized. This wasn't the time to be off to dream-land.

She stopped up and closed her eyes for a moment, working to get her reiatsu spinning. Having had only a little week to actually get used to using it without being taken over by her instincts, using the reiatsu didn't come naturally to her at all. It was so different from magic too.

Not only was it divided into two - reiryoku, the spiritual power a person possesses and reiatsu, the spiritual power and the physical manifestation of reiryoku. Basically, what you could feel and see. Then there was apparently also reishi, which existed everywhere in everything in the worlds of the dead and was used to restore the reiatsu once it was used.. Apparently some people could even use that directly. Or that was at least how she understood it. It was really confusing..

Unlike magic, it wasn't dependent on her feelings and personality as such, it was just what it was - ever unchanging. And it felt like she had to draw it from a whole new place, and doing that required her to focus on what she was doing.

A little slower than she would have liked, she managed to guide the energy to her eyes. What she was doing was something Grimmjow had called a 'Pesquisa'. Basically, it sent out a pulse of reiatsu and with it, she could sense other people and their reiatsu within her range. Unlike him though, she had to stand still doing it - she couldn't just do it on the run like he so easily did.

She turned her head slightly to the right, feeling a fairly strong Hollow in that direction. She opened her eyes, looked at Grimmjow, who'd been looking at and waiting for her as she used the pesquisa. She nodded right and the two of them set off in a run in the direction of their nearest target.

* * *

She slowly took a bite out of the target they'd just slain. It wasn't that it didn't taste good - it did - she just didn't like doing it.

Grimmjow found it both hilarious and annoying as hell as usual. "If you don't start eating faster soon, there won't be much left for you, Kitten." Though it may have seemed jovial, she knew there was an underlying threat underneath. If she didn't eat, she wouldn't get stronger. And if she didn't get stronger, then he might as well eat her himself.

Though reluctant she swallowed the chunk in her mouth and took a new bite with what she guessed was a very awkwardly placed, pained expression. However much she wanted to, she couldn't hide her discomfort.

He shook his head and grunted in amusement. "You're so fucking strange, you know that?" He asked rhetorically as he took a bite himself, before continuing. "I've been thinking about it though - why you're so abnormally strange." He stated as he chewed and swallowed the food. "But I really just can't come up with a single damn thing." He said, and before she had a chance to say anything in her own defense, he'd already continued ahead. "It's not like you're stunted - you get stronger at a normal pace considering what kind of Hollows you've eaten, so I just don't get it." He said, sounding like he was basically on the verge of giving up.

She sighed, knowing how he felt about it all. "I know it doesn't really fit in with this place-"

"Damn right it doesn't." He grunted.

She sent him a light glare. "But I don't like killing. I hate it and wouldn't do it if I had any other choice." She said, getting a look from him which told her she was definitely crazy. "I'm sorry, but those are the values I've had my entire life. I'm not about to change them now." She told him firmly.

He snorted and took another bite of the Hollow nonchalantly. "Your life began a week ago, Kitten. Your words don't mean anything." He told her.

She frowned as she looked at him. How could he just say something like that? "That's awfully rude of you to say." She told him, quite honestly offended. He was basically insinuating that anything she did before becoming a Hollow was worthless.

He raised a brow at her and shook his head. "If you want to count the few months you were an ordinary Hollow and a Gillian too then I guess it's a pair of months and a week." He said patronizingly.

She stood up, stomping the ground. She wouldn't just roll over and let him jab at her life so easily. No way. "For your information, I truly treasured the nineteen years I spent with my family and friends. They might not be perfect, but they are good enough for me and certainly a thousand times better than anything this hell-hole has to offer!" She actually yelled. She would not just let him insult Fairy Tail like that.

He looked at her with slightly widened eyes and a disbelieving expression. "Wait.. What did you just say?" He asked, his mind seemingly spinning faster than it'd ever done.

She growled under her breath. "I'm saying." She said clearly and exasperatedly. "That I won't just stand here and listen to you insult my entire life and all the people precious to me." She told him sharply. He may kill her or not, she was just about ready to turn around and walk away anyway.

He shook his head as he got up to his feet. "No, not that." He said, clearly bothered by something she hadn't caught on to. "You remember?" He then bluntly asked her.

"Remember what?" She asked him tiredly.

"Remember your life!" he told her as if it was supposed to be obvious. "Remember the time before being a Hollow - when you were alive?" He then added for clarification.

She dared look at him like the idiot he definitely was. "Yes, of course I remember my own damn life." She said, getting angry with him now. "Who the hell do you even think I am?"

He ignored her completely though, and just sat down on his butt, staring straight ahead. "It all makes sense then." He said philosophically, as if he'd just found the eighth wonder of the world. "I don't know how it's possible, but it makes sense." He basically repeated in the same tone of voice.

She glared at him. "What? What are you trying to say, Grimmjow?" She asked him exasperatedly, hoping to get him back to reality.

And it actually worked out. He turned to her, his blue eyes still wide as saucers. "Of course you'd not like killing - that's because you still remember. You're still human, you're not entirely Hollow." He continued o mumble gibberish to himself.

She frowned, feeling like something was wrong, and that she wasn't catching on at all. "What are you talking about?" She repeated her earlier question, hoping for a proper answer this time.

He got up from his butt and stood across from her. "You didn't forget everything, so you still value life like most humans do. It's obvious you wouldn't be able to kill just like that." He said, still in wonder.

She frowned even deeper as her mind processed what it'd been told. "You say it like it's a bad thing." She pointed out, now a little worried. His reaction was so strange.

He seemingly returned to himself a little. "I said it like it is an unusual thing." He corrected her, getting her even more worried and confused about what was going on. He looked at her searchingly, as if he thought he'd get the answer if he just looked long enough. "Normally, when you die, all your memories are erased." He finally explained.

Though she had sort of expected something like that, that there was something weird about her remembering things, having it actually confirmed made her sit down in her surprise, so as to not fall. "What…?" She then asked with a tiny voice.

"I don't know why this happens." He paused, but quickly continued. "But I'm guessing part of the reason is so that we don't go looking for the people we once knew. Keep the live and the dead separated." He told her. "But in us Hollows' cases, it's probably also for another reason." He dramatically said, pausing for a short moment. "So that we will be able to kill each other without any problems. Like the ones you're facing right now."

She looked up, her eyes as wide as his had been just a moment earlier. He - and everyone else she'd met in Hueco Mundo - didn't remember anything past being a Hollow? That was all they remembered? Why was she different? What was wrong with her?

He clearly didn't notice her inner turmoil as he began listing all the things she was struggling with recently. "Your hesitation to kill - you've probably never killed when you lived and then the first time you did it, you had no control of yourself and now you have to do it to survive. You don't see other Hollows as prey - barely even targets. You see all of them as people. Each one their own person…" He said, hitting bull's eye every time. That it first occurred to him now was a wonder to her. "And then your body.. You can't get used to it because you still remember being human. Your body still remembers being human… Shit." He said as his own words apparently also settled in his own head.

She'd already figured the things he'd just said - what she was having a hard time grasping was the fact that no one else remembered anything. Basically… Everyone here was beasts, relying on their instincts to drive them forward. She was the only human here… How would she ever survive this with such a handicap?

"For a human though…" He said, looking at her with a strange look she hadn't seen before. "You got a hell of a strong survival-instinct." He commended her. Was that… Respect? He quickly brushed it off though, not wanting to stay on the topic of the compliment longer than necessary. "Just in case you hadn't already figured out, you should run around telling this to everyone. Actually, you shouldn't tell anyone." He told her.

She looked at him, confused. "Why? What could it possibly harm if others knew about it?" She asked him. It wasn't like it changed anything for them in any given situation anyway. Not that's she'd run around yelling it at the sky either.

He looked at her as if she was stupid. "Because you quite obviously care about those people." He told her, though that didn't ease her confusion. "They might use those people you know to blackmail you into doing some shit." He explained. "They might also just realize that you have a soft heart and will know you are not stronger than them." He told her matter-of-factly.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "How do you know that? Maybe they'd just be curious instead." She argued. Why did he have to expect the worst right from the start? That was too pessimistic.

"Because that's what I would do." He bluntly told her. He walked towards her slowly. "Even though you're not able to do it, Kitten, you have to understand that everyone here would do anything to get a step ahead - no matter how nefarious the method might seem to you." He said almost threateningly. "We aren't as soft as you are."

She looked at him, her every muscle tense and ready to spring into action if the situation called for it. "I'll just have to get as hard as all of you then, don't I?"

* * *

It had been a while since the two had eaten the Hollow they'd brought down and then forgotten about earlier. Eating what was left and the time after was spent in silence. Both of them had a shit-ton of thoughts to clear out about the most recent revelation.

Grimmjow had hardly even been able to believe it, even if it made all other puzzle-pieces fit together. He hadn't even heard of a case where a dead person kept their memories, so why would she be any different?

But all evidence pointed in the direction that she indeed was different. With what he'd seen himself - how she struggled both physically and mentally here - it just made it make sense. Not only that though. He'd noticed that she often got a faraway look in her eyes, usually followed up by looking depressed. He now knew it was because she was remembering being alive. She also often stared at her hollow-hole. He couldn't know what, but something was special about its placement. And she often said weird things too. Probably sayings or something that she remembered from her past life.

Now he thought about it, something had felt way off about her since the beginning. She just felt different. Which was probably also why he kept her around to begin with - something he'd otherwise never do.

He couldn't help feeling curious about her and the reason she actually got to keep her memories, unlike everyone else. So, he decided the silence had been quite enough already. And she was offering him the best opportunity, as she was staring down at her paw again. "See anything there you didn't notice before, Kitten?" he asked, easily gaining her attention.

She looked at him, a little shocked at first, before seemingly calming down. She shook her head gently "No, sorry. It just got me thinking for a moment." She admitted.

He made himself comfortable as he got ready to have is curiosity satisfied. Like she had the other day "About what?" He pressed on, not really caring if she found it rude or not.

"Well…" She trailed off an even more sad expression took over on her face. "About the people that I loved and brutally killed as a Hollow…" She said with a low voice. If it was because she was embarrassed or to hide what she felt, he couldn't figure out.

Her words piqued his interest though. "The people you loved and the people you killed? That's a slightly strange combination." He commented. Usually, you wouldn't really group those two groups together much.

She shook her head, not meeting his gaze. "No, the people that I both loved _and_ killed." She corrected him, her expression sort of blank and unreadable.

Now she had his undivided attention. "Wait… You killed some of the people you know? Exactly how did that happen?" He asked her. It was at all unheard of that a dead soul, which's main focus was a single person they knew or cared for would kill these people when they became Hollows because of that obsession. But he hadn't heard it in plural like that. This seemed different. Again.

She nodded. "Yes… I was so caught up trying to sate my hunger for food and power I couldn't even recognize some of the people closest to me." She said, her statement met with complete silence. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation, so he just shut up and listened. "I… I almost killed one of my best friends." She told him with a broken voice, but a stone-cold expression, staring ahead at something he couldn't see. "I hurt her so much. She would never forgive me for what I've done… I can't even forgive myself." She muttered.

Realizing he'd opened up for a dam filled up with a hell of a lot of water, he decided to try and close it up again before it got around to drown him. "Can't say I can relate to that, but I can tell you that whatever you did back then wasn't really you." He told her, drawing her attention back to him. "What did all that back there were the most primal instincts you have - the ones which tried making sure you weren't hungry and that you would survive no matter what it cost." He said, drawing on what he knew. He had no clue how to cheer someone up. Zero. Nada.

Her smile was tiny and without any humor or happiness. "Thank you, but… I didn't just kill them." She then told him slowly, almost as if she was debating with herself whether to actually tell him this or not. "I.. 'Played' with them. Toyed and tortured them however I could before eating their souls. Until they either had no will or energy to fight." She said, once again seeing all the things she'd done once again. "And I enjoyed it whole-heartedly."

The confession was low, but seemed loud in the little, silent cave. And his thoughts had been blown in every direction possible.

Even as an ordinary Hollow, the memories she had now would also be part of her then - though clearly not as dominating as they seemed to be now. He couldn't help thinking that she would be fine in Hueco if she'd been capable of something like that. That was just bat-shit crazy knowing how affected she was now. On the other hand, her otherwise odd behavior was even more understandable.

It made him wonder though. What could make her do something like that shit even if she'd been running on instincts almost purely? What kind of things could wake something like that in a caring person like she seemed to be? What kind of things had she gone through to get so angry?

He realized he'd been quiet for longer than what was normal, but this had really surprised him. "That's pretty normal for a Hollow." He said, not entirely sure it was true. "We crave battled and bloodshed.. That was what kept you alive." He reminded her. Had she - and any other Hollow - not had the will to eat and get stronger, they wouldn't survive the living world. Some Shinigami would end them before they even reached Hueco.

She huffed. "I'd rather have died than live with this guilt." She told him, and looked like she actually believed that too.

"You didn't then." He told her bluntly. "And you don't now either."

She glared at him angrily. "What makes you think I don't want to die now?" She asked him half rhetorically.

"If you still wanted to die, you wouldn't be alive now." He answered her calmly. "You would have fought to survive ever since we met and till now. I would have killed you a long time ago, Kitten."

She tore her gaze away from him and to the ground she was standing on, pausing for a moment. "I guess… You're right…" She admitted. She didn't have to tell him that, he already knew. A moment passed in silence and he could basically see how all the gears turned around in her head. He didn't have to wait for long to find out what got her so puzzled. "It's strange though.." She mumbled, probably mostly to herself. "During all my time alive, I never even heard of anything even slightly resembling Hollows. Not even once." She commented lowly and wonderingly.

He sighed inwardly. Not exactly what he had expected. This was too simple. "Obviously you wouldn't." he said, making her turn to him again, curiously. "Humans have a strange tendency to brush off the things they can't really explain. That or make up some random and probably wrong explanation for it." He said, shaking his head at the thought. They'd probably not even notice it if they were invaded by aliens someday.

She frowned a little. "That may be true for many, but I and the others would have heard about it if a monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began slaughtering left and right." She said, clearly thinking back on how she'd gone berserk on a killing-spree herself back when she was the 'monster'.

He grunted. "Pff. Not unless you're the CIA or some shit like that." He said, almost laughed. She thought herself special now, did she?

She only frowned even more deeply, looking like he'd just said the moon was made of cheese. "CIA?" She asked, almost as if she hadn't heard of it ever before. Which would basically be impossible, especially since she had her memories. You'd have to be living under a very, very heavy stone if you hadn't. "Don't know what that is." She then stated, much to his horror. "No, but we'd definitely be the first to hear about it though, we were the strongest after all." She said, again primarily to herself.

He knew he was looking at her as if she'd just told him the moon was made of cheese now, but he really didn't give a damn. She was talking crazy-talk over there - who the hell did she think she was when she was alive? And how in all the levels of hell did she not know what the CIA was? "The strongest what?" He managed to ask not too rudely despite himself.

"The strongest guild, Fairy Tail." She told him plainly, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

He just stared blankly at her, blinking once. "What?" Was all he could muster up at this point. It was all too much for him to deal with.

She now looked a little irritated. "You know, the strongest guild in Fiore? The ones known for their rambunctiousness?" She asked, sounding almost like she was talking to a 5 year-old.

He just looked at her with even more of a deadpan expression. "No. I don't know." He stated unconcernedly. "What the hell are you even talking about?" He asked, slowly getting the slight suspicion that she might have belonged to an asylum when she was alive.

She furrowed her nonexistent eyebrows. "You don't know of a country called Fiore..?" When he shook his head, she made another try. "Alvarez, then?" She still got the same reply. She sighed and shook her head gently, as if having been forced to accept something. "It's as I thought, I see.." She mumbled to herself.

He looked at her, quite honestly getting annoyed with all the nonsense she was speaking. "You see what? Care to fill me the fuck in?" He asked grumpily.

She looked at him a little worriedly. "You probably won't believe me, but… I am not from Earth." She slowly told him, unsure of his reaction.

She was only even more retarded than before in his eyes. "No, I don't fucking believe you." He flatly confirmed. "Are you some kind of alien or what the hell are you trying to tell me?" That she even had the gall to try and get him to believe something like this was unbelievable in itself.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "I don't think that's how it is." She said thoughtfully as she searched for some random-ass synonym for 'alien'. "It's more like I'm from another version of Earth. Earthland, it's called." She told him, though clearly not on the in regarding all this either. Which made it even harder to believe.

"It's more like you're crazy." He shot back, thumping the ground with his tail angrily. "Don't know what the hell you're trying to do, but you won't make me believe in theis shit." He warned her - she might as well give up now and spare him the headache. Wherever she was going with this, it could only be her being up to no good.

"You need proof, right?" She asked somewhat rhetorically. She lifted the paw with the hollow-hole up a little. "You mentioned that I often look at this… That's because every time I look at it, I am reminded of everyone back there. Why? Because before the hole was here, there was the proof that I belonged to my guild - my insignia." She told him. Though he didn't believe a word of whatever tale she was spinning over there, he still listened. If nothing else it might turn out to be an entertaining story he could laugh his ass off at some other time in the future. "A guild, in my world, is a group of special people with something I guess is similar to reiatsu - magic." She said and paused, probably figuring how ridiculous she sounded in his ears.

"Magic?" He simply, bluntly asked. "Like, pulling-a-rabbit-out-of-your-hat-magic? Because that's the only kind of magic that exists. Unless you're a fucking idiot and telling me you people are actually calling reiatsu for magic." He said, getting annoyed at the thought of people actually doing something like that.

She shook her head. "No, it isn't reiatsu, it's different. And we can do much more than that." She said and then quickly listed off examples before he said anything more. "Some can manipulate ice, some can breathe fire, some can turn parts of their bodies into iron, others can run extremely fast or make vines sprout from the ground and anything you can think of in between. Everything is possible. There are as many different kinds of magic as there are people." She told him seriously.

He looked skeptically at her. "Breathe fire? Turn into iron? Come now, Kitten, you can't expect me to believe something like that shit. I thought you were old enough to know magic and fairies don't exist?" He said patronizingly, now fairly sure she belonged with the other crazies.

She glared at him. "It may not exist on Earth, but it does on Earthland, Grimmjow." She half growled at him.

He looked at her almost amusedly. "So how are you going to prove that?" He asked.

She looked beyond frustrated now, but somehow managed to not explode on him. Instead, she closed her eyes. He had thought it was to compose herself, but then a faint, golden glow appeared around her, easily lighting the little room they were in up.

He almost sprang to his feet when he saw it. What the heck?! Reiatsu didn't behave like this! But then he noticed. It felt similar, but it was not quite the same reiatsu he usually felt - it felt different.

"What the hell is this shit!?" He yelled. Shocked, confused and irritated all at once. And then he didn't want to attract other Hollows with it either.

She opened her eyes and smiled lightly at him. "It's my magic, of course - Celestial magic." She told him, clearly finding it all too fun to prove him wrong.

He growled angrily. "Turn that fucking shit off. Don't want the entire fucking population of Hueco running here 'cause they felt your dumbass 'magic' shit." He said, and she did as told. "So what the hell can you do with your magic?"

She sat down slowly, intentionally making him wait for her. "Had I had my tools, my keys, I could have summoned beings from another world to help me fight or with whatever I might need them for. She told him calmly. "They're called Spirits and are from the Spirit World. Each key belongs to a Spirit's gate, which allows Celestial mages to summon them. They're all based on one of the constellations in the sky - the strongest being the 12 Zodiac." She seemed to realize she'd never stop if she let herself get started, so she cut herself short there.

"Holy shit." He mumbled, hoping she didn't actually hear that. This was hard as hell to believe, and what she just explained sounded so fucking ridiculous. "So what the hell can those Spirits do? And you can't summon them without those keys?" He asked, curious about whether he could possibly count on this as an assent in future situations. One thing was for sure though - she had something that wasn't reiatsu. Magic, apparently. He couldn't doubt it after what he'd just seen and felt.

"No, unfortunately, I can't use them without their keys, and as far as I know, they're still in my best friend's possession." She told him. "As for the Spirits, they all have their own magic, strengths and things they can do. Just like mages." She explained with a tint of melancholy in her voice.

"Well, damn." He grunted. There went that plan.

Seeing his reaction, she spoke again. "I don't know that many, but there are some spells for Celestial magic. You only need to know the incantation to use them." She said almost reassuringly.

He nodded somewhat absently. What the hell was even going on anymore? Other worlds, magic and keeping memories after dying. It was more than he could handle at the moment.

One question popped up - well, there were many at the moment, but this one was more urgent than the rest. "So why didn't you end up in Hueco and not wherever you people go when you die?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know no one else turned into Hollows - we guilds would have heard of it." She said. "I think it might have to do with how I was killed…" She then added.

"You also remember that, huh..?" He hadn't even thought of that, but of course she would also remember that moment. Damn.

She nodded. "Yeah…" She trailed off. "I can't be sure, but I think I was killed by one of the Shinigami captains." She said.

He whipped his head up. "What?!" He yelled. He had figured she'd seen a captain by chance or something, but nothing like that. "The Shinigami don't kill the living though." He then said. Actually, they usually tried to prevent them from dying of unnatural causes - AKA Hollows.

She smiled a pretty dead smile. "Yeah, he obviously didn't mean to either - he seemed shocked too." She said and apparently decided to tell him the full story. "My team and I were on a mission that day. We were supposed to fix a tunnel the citizens of the nearby towns used. It was apparently pretty roughed up and about to crumble down. It wasn't our usual kind of mission - there weren't a lot of thugs to battle after all - but our magic fit somewhat well with the task." She said, a clear, nostalgic look on her face as she remembered all that had happened. "Then we saw a group of people in there, doing something suspicious and they were all clad similarly. So, as reckless as my teammates are, they immediately jumped to the conclusion that these guys were the ones who'd destroyed the cave and went to attack them." She shook her head lightly in amusement. "Of course, I'm now pretty sure that this group was part of one of the divisions and their captain, who had somehow found a way into my world." She said, sounding pretty certain about this as well. "I think it was because I was impaled by that captain's sword and was directly confronted with that other world - this world - that I became a Hollow and went here instead." She stated.

He nodded slowly, trying to swallow everything. "Sounds realistic." At least in comparison to everything else he had just been told. Honestly, he couldn't find heads or tails in all of this. It was just too crazy.

Damn. He needed to hunt.

* * *

Grimmjow had left to hunt a little while ago and had told Lucy to stay put. She didn't mind it much. She had already found out it was his way to take his mind off things and work through it. And honestly, she couldn't blame him with everything he'd just been told.

And she also had some stuff she needed to work through, so the alone-time was actually welcome.

Most curiously to her, her magic had felt a little different than she remembered it. The different part of it felt somewhat familiar too, but she couldn't pinpoint it exactly. But it wasn't just that - it felt like she had to draw it from somewhere else than she was used to. It just felt different.

She also noticed that her memory of the Shinigami captain who'd killed her was muddled. She could remember the number on his back - 5, she was pretty sure - and his snake-like expression, with the closed eyes and smile. But she couldn't remember if his eyes were cyan blue or a soft brown, but she knew it was either of those two. She couldn't remember his hair either. It was white and somewhat long.. But was it curly or straight? She really couldn't remember. And she knew she should.

Nonetheless, there was only one of those things she could do anything about right now, she just had to make sure there weren't anyone around first.

She closed her eyes and did a quick pesquisa to check her surroundings. No one seemed to be within her range, so she decided to go out of the little cave. It could get slightly claustrophobic at times.

She sat down outside of it and drew out a little amount of magic - not at all as much as she had done earlier. She closed her eyes and tried getting a better feel of it.

She noticed it wasn't because it was drawn from a different place it had weirded her out. It felt almost like it was connected to something and wouldn't let go… She widened her eyes, then guided the magic into her right 'palm'. With that, she then also drew some reiatsu to her left one. She pushed the two energy-infused paws together.

She stared down at the visible mix of magic and reiatsu at her paws. It felt almost natural. She could feel how both energies easily mixed together and strengthened each other. And it had a warm orange color. Sort of similar to Loke's hair, actually.

Once again, her eyes widened in realization. Loke! She quickly pulled the two energies away from each other. They did so smoothly, without any resistance whatsoever. She quickly extinguished the reiatsu and focused on the magic. The familiar presence she had felt… It was Loke! But.. Why could she feel him in her magic? And if it had any influence otherwise, was that the reason she appeared to be a feline now?

"Excuse me." She heard someone say, barely ten meters away from her. And it wasn't Grimmjow.

Lucy jumped in surprise and completely lost her focus, making the magic dissipate. In front of her stood a blonde woman with tan skin and looked to be a strange humanoid shark. And had a big, long blade-looking thing on one arm.

This was one of the Vasto Lorde Grimmjow had warned her about…!

She immediately jumped to her feet, crouching low and readying herself for the possibility of a fight happening. She couldn't very well run now. "What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to seem as intimidating as possible. She had a feeling she really just looked like a little kitten trying to roar like a lion.

The Vasto actually raised her hands in surrender. "I am sorry if I surprised you. I do not intend to fight you." She calmly reassured Lucy.

Though Lucy relaxed a little at the statement, her guard was still up both physically and mentally. A Vasto didn't get their rank for nothing.

Seeing that the kitten playing lioness in front of her wasn't going to attack, the woman introduced herself. "I am known as Tier Harribel and again, I apologize for frightening you." She apologized again, bowing a little to emphasize this.

Lucy, a little confused, decided to introduce herself also. "It's… All right. No harm done. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you." She said almost questioningly, then bowed her head as well in greeting, though it felt more like she was admitting she knew where she was in the hierarchy.

She could appreciate seeing a strong woman though - who was also blonde to boot - even if she wasn't human right now. And this woman was most definitely a beauty, though a bit of an exotic kind. Well, if it hadn't been for the shark-fin and all that.

"Indeed." Harribel easily agreed. "I came because I noticed you were sitting here, alone. I was worried you might get attack, you looked so focused on what you were doing and there's a very strong Hollow approaching." She said and Lucy was sure that if she hadn't been what she was, she would have blushed in embarrassment. "I also wanted to know if you needed any help. You look a little lost… I am in a group with a few other women as well, so might you be interested in joining us?" She offered.

Lucy unintentionally dropped her guard for a moment, staring up at the other Hollow in front of her shocked. "You… What?" Was all she unintelligently could ask.

Harribel seemed very patient though. At present, we are a little group of four women, who are not all too fond of the way things work here in Hueco Mundo. I find it too violent with all this killing, and so do the others. We all wish to change the way things are to something else." She explained calmly, while Lucy was completely stunned. "Will you consider joining us?" She repeated her question.

This woman, Tier Harribel, was an actual, pure and very strong Hollow… And yet she didn't like killing? How did she reach the Vasto Lorde status if she had that running in her mind? The very same thoughts Lucy had. How could she get this far with the kind of problems this undoubtedly caused for her? She couldn't help but admire this woman.

And, if nothing else, then this really was the ideal chance for her to escape from Grimmjow. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to beat both her and a Vasto Lorde.

But she already knew what her answer was. "I think it's a very admirable goal you have set and I would love to help any way I can, b-"

"OI!" She then heard Grimmjow yell, rudely cutting her off as he suddenly appeared with his sonido. "What the hell do you think you're doing here, bitch?!" He bluntly asked Harribel, making Lucy want to smack her head against the wall. Several times. How could he just talk to a Vasto Lorde like that? Did he have a death wish? That was when he turned to her. Before Harribel had a chance to reply. "And why the hell haven't you run away like I fucking told you to?" He asked her angrily.

Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't much in the mood for this right now. "Maybe, if you hadn't come charging in like a damn idiot, you would have noticed there is not even a shred of hostility coming from anyone. Except you." She shot back, momentarily surprising herself with her own sharp tongue.

While he seemed to feel this out for himself, Harribel answered his previous question. "I came here with the intention to recruit Lucy to help me reach the goal of a more peaceful Hueco Mundo." She told him as calmly as ever.

"Well, you can just fuck off then and good luck with that dream." He replied sarcastically.

Harribel looked to Lucy, who just shrugged. She didn't know how to help him either. "I'm sorry, Harribel, I can't join you. But I would love to help if you ever need some extra manpower." She told the Vasto.

Yes, this had been her golden opportunity to escape the deal she'd made with Grimmjow but with all that he had helped her, kept her alive and listened to her these last few days, she couldn't help but feel she owed him something. Besides, she once lived by the code that said that Celestial mages never break their promises, she didn't plan to break that code now. She'd also kind of come to like him enough not to hate his company.

"No you fucking don't." Grimmjow told her angrily and quite seriously.

She turned to him somewhat exasperatedly as well. "Yes, I fucking will." She shot back, silencing him for at least a moment.

Harribel nodded to her. "Thank you, I will take you up on that." She said. "Until we see each other again." Then, she disappeared.

"Next time we see each other it'll be as fucking enemies!" Grimmjow yelled after her. Lucy could only sigh dejectedly.

* * *

 **All right, here we go..! A damn long chapter if I do say so myself. And that's what you guys asked for, so hope you enjoy!**

 **I realize there is a lot of talking in this one and not so much action, but these were things that had to be done. And, well, I'm sure it isn't all bad.**

 **In the end, we also meet Harribel. And that's not for nothing - it will have its share of meaning later on. Now you can go and guess all you want about this~**

 **Most importantly of what we see in this chapter though, in some way or another, Grimmjow and Lucy are getting a little closer, despite the strange circumstances.  
Her change should especially be visible near the end, as she clearly isn't as uptight with him as she was to begin with. Likewise, you should also notice she is conforming a little more to this world in general, as you can see in her.. Colorful language. **

**So yeah.. Not much else to mention I think.  
Ah, yes, of course. Sonido (Actually sonído), the technique which allows Hollows to move at insane speeds, means 'Sound' in Spanish (as in moving at the speed of sound, aka fast) and 'Sound Ceremony' in Japanese. Same concept, I'd think.  
Pesquisa means to 'research' or 'investigate' in Spanish and 'probe circuit' in Japanese. Why that is, you guys'll have to tell me.**

 **So yeah, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and commenting! Keep it up and I will too~**

 **~Line464d**


	6. Chapter 6 - Two to Seven

**Chapter 6 - From Two to Seven**

 **For those of you commenting about wanting Lucy to get stronger and etc., there's a lil' message for you at the bottom.**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: M'kay. 'Surprise'. I don't own anything from Bleach and Fairy Tail. Not as of yet, anyway…**

* * *

After having found out that Lucy could use her magic and that she could combine it with her reiatsu, things had progressed much more smoothly.

"Now!" Grimmjow yelled from above the Hollow he had pinned on the ground underneath him.

She breathed in. "Regulus' Cero!" She chanted as a magic-enhanced, golden-orange Cero shot out at their common enemy. She nailed it right in the back of its head and then fought to suppress the shudder which crawled up her spine.

She was not used to doing this at all, but as Grim had told her, she couldn't draw suspicion to herself. Who knew who was watching?

"Good job, Kitten. You got him." He told her amusedly. "You need to work on the shivering though." He almost laughed. Yeah, that whole thing was still absolutely hilarious to him.

She sighed. "Yeah, I know." She said as she approached him and… Their prey.

"Hurry and eat, we're not done for the day." He told her and made a point of tearing a chunk of the Hollow off and chewing it loudly.

She joined in as well, albeit not as eagerly as he did. For a while, they'd agreed to kill and eat a minimum of three Hollows a day - all around Grimmjow's level of strength. He wanted some challenge during hunts, she needed to grow as strong as possible as fast as possible and she was finally at a place where she could survive fights like those. A win-win situation, in his eyes.

He only dared this because he knew she was no stranger to battles - most especially those in which she didn't have the strength-advantage. Though he didn't want to admit it himself, of course.

Since having revealed that not only did she still have her memories, but that she also came from an entirely different world, any of the holes in their schedules had been filled with her telling tales of the things she experience in her life and generally about Earthland. For example, when they were walking out in the middle of nothing or in what they deemed the evenings in this place of endless nights. Once in a while, Grimmjow would also tell her a little about Earth - but it was limited what he knew now his memories had disappeared.

Thinking about it… A person without memories at all, what would they have to fight for? She realized he was a little power-hungry and that that was what had him hunting, fighting and eating. But why? Why was he power-hungry? What was his end goal?

"Oi, calm down, Kitten." Her current subject of interest called out, catching her attention. "I know this guy is damn delicious, but keep to your own fucking part, all right?" He told her grumpily. If she didn't chances were she'd not have to eat and kill any more Hollows.

His comment surprised her though. As she looked down, she found that she'd eaten her own half of the pretty big Hollow and was moving towards his half of it. She'd eaten faster than he had…

She quickly pulled back and turned around. "Oh, sorry about that." She muttered as she made sure to clean herself up entirely so that this - delicious - Hollow was nowhere to be seen before turning around again.

She could feel how he was shaking his head at her. "Glad to see you giving in for a change. There's literally no reason to fight it." He said honestly and then dug down again.

That, she couldn't agree with. Giving in would mean allowing some things she'd rather not and… If she ever got the chance to see Fairy Tail again, it'd be no good. She was already too different from how she used to be. Any more and they wouldn't be able to recognize her at all.

Pushing the thoughts away, she returned to her earlier thoughts. "So… Why is it you are so eager to go hunting and everything anyway?" She asked him bluntly, figuring she might as well just throw herself head first into this.

He looked up at her confusedly, the green blood of the Hollow freely dripping from his chin, which looked like it hadn't even been white to begin with. "What are you talking about now, Kitten?" He said, sporting a look which clearly reflected his inner thoughts. 'What the hell kind of strange shit is she spouting this time?'

"It's just…" She trailed off, trying to figure out how to say this. "You know, I keep on going in this place - hunting, fighting, eating - because I hope I'll one day see Fairy Tail again. What about you? Why do you keep on going like this?" She asked him, and could already see how ridiculous he found the question to be.

"Isn't it obvious to you yet?" He asked rhetorically. "I want to be the fucking king. The strongest goddamn Hollow in this place. I'll rule all the bastards in this place like the fucking ants they are." He said as an angry expression appeared on his face. "And I'll take down that freak, Ulquiorra. I'll have him bleeding all over the fucking place and begging for his damn life." He growled, angrily taking a bit of the Hollow.

That was a name she hadn't heard before. "'Ulquiorra'?" She asked him confusedly.

"The damn bat." He continued to growl.

"Oh…" She said, feeling stupid now.

"Thought you'd already figured that out." He grumbled into his food. "Thought you were supposed to be some smart-ass or some shit like that." He said, clearly upset by the topic they'd just been on.

She nodded, choosing not to reply to his comment. The king, huh? So, he had the same goal as Harribel. Only he probably didn't want it to be peaceful. If she had to take a guess, she was pretty sure he'd want this place to go to all hell, to use his words. It'd be chaos, everyone killing each other left and right… She wasn't as surprised with the goal to kill the bat though. She just knew it couldn't be all he had to fight for - and she was right.

"All right. Let's get going, Kitten." He said as he got up and non-too gently pushed her as he moved ahead, apparently already finished with the last of his food. "The night's not over yet and I've still not had enough to eat." He grinned, clearly already excited about the next hunt. Probably a means of pushing the bat - Ulquiorra - out of his mind for the time being.

She shook her head at his obvious excitement with a little smile. "I'd really wish you'd drop that nickname sometime soon." She told him, as she had already said a few times.

Ad this time it didn't work for her either. "Not happening." He simply replied amusedly.

The nickname had sort of changed a little in its meaning since he'd begun using it, she felt. Though it still remained as annoying as it'd always had been. In the beginning it was a reference to her being so far under him she might as well be a kid, who needed to be taken care of. It was mean-spirited and meant for her to realize and push her back to her spot on hierarchy.

Now though, she had a feeling he didn't as much use it to state the difference between them as it was to tease her. Like with Gajeel and Bickslow's nicknames for her. To rile her up a bit.

He set off in a run and let his pesquisa flare to life. She quickly followed at the same pace and also let her own reiatsu flow out. Her reach wasn't as great as his of course, but she felt she might as well get used to using it on the run - that was the only way to get better.

"Ten o'clock. Do you feel them?" Grimmjow asked as he turned in the direction of what he could sense.

She refocused her own pesquisa on what was in front of them. Just barely within her range, she felt a little group of Hollows. She nodded. "Yeah, six Hollows right ahead. Very far away though, it'll take us at least ten minutes to reach them." She said, though she knew he was already fully aware of that fact himself.

"Yeah, if we go at this pace." He said almost mischievously. A moment later, he seemed to have disappeared entirely. Sonido. Right.

Shaking her head at her own stupidity, she hurried after him, using the sonido to catch up to him. Moving this quick honestly felt more like teleporting than anything else. It really went that fast.

Alas, what would have taken at least ten minutes in a normal, if not a little fast, running pace, they now did in less than one.

And none of the six in front of them had expected a thing. Grimmjow and Lucy both sprang into action immediately, aiming for the strongest of them. That was undoubtedly the leader of whatever this group was.

The very same Hollow was also the first to turn around, ready for combat, confirming he was indeed the leader.

Lucy bared her claws and scraped six ragged lines of oozing green across the Hollow's side, making him whine in anger and pain. Immediately after, she saw Grimmjow digging his sharp fangs into the guy's shins.

The Hollow seemed to completely forget about her existence as he hammered a heavy fist down on Grimmjow's back. The roar of pain her partner released drilled right into her brain in warning.

Anger burst to life in her and she snarled at the leader of the gang. She allowed both magic and reiatsu to radiate form her freely, making sure the guy drew his attention away from her floored teammate. With that, she jumped up on his back roughly before he could turn around entirely and began running towards his head quickly, but not without making sure to leave a bloody path behind her. She closed her mouth around one of the two annoyingly large horns and used her momentum to pull it off in a manner she hoped painful to all hell.

She turned around slowly as she landed, not caring about his shrieks as she made a point of eating his horn right in front of him.

The distraction was enough for Grimmjow to get his bearings again and charge a Cero. Too late, the Hollow leader turned to him, only allowing the Cero to slice him into two pieces cleanly.

Grimmjow grinned as he approached her and the other five just looked, flabbergasted, at how easily their leader had just been slain. "You need to show me that angry side of yourself more often, I like how vicious you get." He laughed maniacally, already high on the battling.

She growled, not much up for his games right now. "Not now, Grimmjow." She told him, staring straight ahead at the five Hollows left, waiting for them to make the move she was certain they would.

And right enough, one of the more rash ones, sort of snake-like in appearance, charged right ahead at them, aiming for Grimmjow specifically. Just like they had aimed for the strongest just now.

Unfortunately for him, he could in no way measure up to Grimmjow, and as he rushed ahead, Grimmjow managed to sidestep in the last second. Then, with a little nudge, the guy fell over on his side, having lost his balance from both the nudge and the surprise that followed not colliding with Grimmjow.

Her partner quickly stepped up with his two front paws on the fallen Hollow and growled threateningly, just as he had done with her when they'd just met.

He then looked up at all the others, who had realized they wouldn't stand a chance against the two of them, despite their superior size. "Anyone else?" He asked, seemingly casually. His whole body was tense though and absolutely ready for anyone else who would decide to test their luck.

The four looked around at each other, having a silent conversation, until one of them, a very tall and very thin-looking Hollow, stepped forward. "It is clear that we stand no chance against your might." The one stated loud and clear.

Grimmjow growled in approval. "Damn right you don't." He said, then turned to Lucy. "Seems we'll be having a grand feast tonight, Kitten." He said, his excitement at the thought obvious. The way he was swiping his tail back and forth was a very clear sign of the same as well.

The Hollow, which had stepped forward, spoke again. "We humbly ask you to reconsider." He said, bowing his tall form lightly.

Grimmjow narrowed his blue eyes at him. "The fuck should I do that again? I don't need any more fucking deadweight slaves." He growled exasperatedly.

She kinda snickered outwardly - this situation really was somewhat similar to what her own had been. His words cut through her like a knife though. Somehow, in between all the hunting and exchange of stories, she'd completely forgotten the reality of her own situation. She was nothing more than a temporary, deadweight slave he was dragging around until she would fulfill her purpose. Then.. He would kill and eat her just as he would the bat, Ulquiorra. She had somehow gotten comfortable around him and completely forgotten about all of that…

"Because." The Hollow spoke up again, and unlike her, already had his excuses prepared. "You have just killed our leader, Dio Brando, and thus, we are now leaderless. We wish for you to be out leader and guide us on the path to becoming Vasto Lorde." He offered.

Grimmjow was having none of it though. "Didn't I just fucking tell you, retard? I don't need or want any damn slaves! - I already got what I need." He snarled back, getting angry with the guy now.

"Yes, however, we do not wish to simply be your slaves." The Hollow replied calmly. "It is clear to me that you are meant for something grand and we wish to follow you in this endeavor. I am certain that you will one day become a Vasto Lorde and you most definitely have the potential to become the king of Hueco Mundo. I wish to walk behind you the entire path." He finally ended off, looking at Grimmjow expectantly.

Had she had any, she would have raised a brow. This guy was either exceptionally sharp, able to predict the future or an extremely good ass-kisser. Whatever the case, he would have to follow his word. He didn't seem like a guy who would break a promise like this one though. In this, she had a strong feeling he was trustworthy.

Alas, she turned to look at Grimmjow, who was clearly coming up with all the different ways he could kill these Hollows. "I think you should let them live, Grimmjow." She told him with certainty, hoping he would listen to her at all.

Grimmjow grunted. "Luckily, you aren't the one making the decisions." He teased her, but he clearly meant it.

She wanted to, but somehow she refrained from rolling her eyes at him. "You said you wanted to become the king of this place, right?" She asked, not even considering waiting for a confirmation. "You won't become a king if you don't form alliances and have someone following you." She told him, watching as he closed his mouth at realizing the truth in her words. "There's sort of a half alliance with Harribel, if you want to call it that. So this is the ideal opportunity to gain some followers of your own, Grimmjow." She told him, ending her monologue.

"That's one hell of a 'slave' you got there, dude." The snake-like Hollow, with a sort of hammerhead shark's head, basically laughed, a provocative look on his face.

It also served its purpose of getting a reaction out of Grimmjow well. "Shut up, freak. One more peep from you and I'll kill you..!" He growled in obvious irritation.

The tall and thin Hollow spoke again. "I take it that means you do not intend to kill us?" He inquired.

Grim only grunted, stepping down from the snake. Lucy turned to the Hollow and nodded. "That means 'yes'." She confirmed.

* * *

The group, she'd found, was quite a strange, rag-tag bunch. Something she was fortunate enough to be 100 percent used to from her living days.

The one who'd stepped forward and spoken that day was called Shawlong Koufang. A very tall - they were all very tall in comparison to Grimmjow and her - and skinny Hollow, almost skeletal. His mask looked like a visor not unlike Bickslow's and a long braid-looking tube came out of the back of his head. As they'd seen the other day, he was very well-mannered and intelligent.

The one Grimmjow had ben pinning to the ground was Di Roy Rinker. Not much else could be said than that he was a flat and thin serpent with a hammerhead's head. Given that he and Grimmjow had similar personality traits - bloodthirsty, arrogant, short-fused and impulsive - they not-so-surprisingly hit off fairly well.

Then there was the one of the remaining three, who stood out the most. Nakeem Grindia. He was still a Gillian, though with a flat nose, almost like it had been cut off. He was the silent type and had yet to even say a single word, but always seemed calm and serious.

The last two were quite similar in terms of looks. Juggernaut-like with ridiculously big shoulder-plates. One's looked lik a strange sort of wing and the other's like a shield.

The first one was Edard Liones and he was basically the definition of a samurai character - prideful, tons of honor, a tactician and a strong dislike for anyone who fought because they found it fun.

The other one was Yylfordt Granz, generally a very sarcastic and effeminate character, despite his pretty masculine appearance. He also often referred to others as 'brothers' for whatever reason. Not her though, obviously.

It was most definitely lively with all these new people around and often also fun. But sometimes she caught herself in thinking back at the nomadic life she'd been leading with Grimmjow when it was just the two of them. And missing it. She always just pushed those thoughts away as well as she could, there was no use in thinking about things like that.

Another thing she didn't seem able to keep to herself was the story between herself and Grimmjow. Di Roy was of the curious sort, it turned out.

The giant Hollow-snake turned to her - and just like the others also did, made her feel tiny. "So, Lucy, why don't you tell me how you became Grimmjow's slave while they're all out hunting?" He asked her hopefully. Apparently Grimmjow, who was out hunting with Edard, Yyfordt and Shawlong, hadn't felt much like telling the story, so now the task was on her shoulders.

She smiled lightly at his eagerness. "Sure, it's not all that exciting though." She warned him, having gotten the idea the guy thought it was an epic story of blood, sweat and tears. While there had been plenty of the former not much of the latter had been spilled. Di Roy gave her a look which told her to just get on with it. "Right, well, it's pretty simple really. I'd just evolved from being a Gillian and moments later, I felt something dark and very strong approaching me. Turns out this was the bat Grimmjow's been talking about, Ulquiorra. I tried to run, but obviously I stood no chance." She said, shaking her head at the memory. "So, I did what I could to survive. But then Grimmjow, who'd of course been chasing Ulquiorra showed up and made the bat flee just in time for him to miss it completely."

Di Roy snorted in laughter. "Yeah, that's probably what's happened every time those two cross each other's paths." He commented, rolling his eyes humorously.

She laughed and nodded. Yeah, she could see Grimmjow chasing Ulquiorra around everywhere like some madman. And never catching him. "Yep, I don't doubt that." She agreed.

Di Roy nodded, then turned to her like an impatient child. "Anyway, continue the story." He told her eagerly. She still wasn't sure why it was so interesting to him. But it was one way to kill the time until the others returned.

"Well…" She said, attempting to get back on track. "He was pissed, hungry and decided to blame it all on me. So… I sort of bargained my way out of dying then." She told him and as she had guessed, he clearly wanted to know exactly what she bargained. His expression told her as much. Nakeem was apparently also listening intently. She sighed. "I promised that if he let me live, then I would help him take down Ulquiorra, acting as a decoy or anything he'd want me to be.." She got a little nod from Di Roy, urging her to continue. He seemed somewhat surprised, but then again not really. "That and then… That after Ulquiorra is taken down, he can eat me as well." She told the now actually surprised Di Roy.

"So that's a no-loss situation for him then.." He commented slowly.

She nodded. "Probably the only reason he's in on it as well." She conceded lowly. It was the truth though. He'd been milliseconds away from tearing her throat out back then.

She barely even finished her sentence when, in a rush of wind and reiatsu, she felt Grimmjow, Shawlong, Edard and Yylfordt returning to their current place of camp - at least until the found somewhere better. Each of them were carrying a barely alive Hollow victim.

And immediately, Grimmjow turned to her, having apparently heard the last of her sentence. "Don't go telling them such useless, goddamn things, Kitten." He told her a little harshly. All right, so there was a reason to him not telling anything, then.

She nodded and bowed her head down lightly in a silent apology. She could probably spend weeks trying to figure out why he didn't want that out and about and she'd most likely guess wrong either way.

Grimmjow nodded for the other three to drop the Hollows they were carrying. "Everybody shares." He said before being a hypocrite sitting down and eating the Hollow he had brought - though smaller than the ones the other brought - by himself.

Shawlong threw the one he was carrying to Lucy and Di Roy. Di Roy looked jealously at Grimmjow, then questioningly at Lucy, who could only shrug in reply. She had nothing to say that would defend this. It really looked like Grimmjow had gotten himself comfortable in the position of power.

Now annoyed, Di Roy looked at said position of power. "You better take me hunting next time." He told the current leader of their little group firmly.

Grimmjow sent the snake a levelling look. "Except if I did that, we would only return with half the prey we'd taken down. So no. Not really." He replied. "Now you better eat before the Kitten eats everything over there." He said amusedly.

Di Roy grunted in irritation, then obeyed and got down to eat. "So why the hell haven't you run away from that guy while you had the chance?" He finally asked, nodding towards Grimmjow, who was now talking with Shawlong about how to become a Vasto Lorde - both figured it was through eating a ton of Hollows and hitting the loft at some point.

She looked from Di Roy to Grimmjow while she chewed. "Well.. I thought and planned to in the beginning, but…" She trailed off, quickly swallowing what she had in her mouth. "Now I feel like I owe him to do as promised." She admitted. She'd had the perfect opportunity with Harribel, but by then, she'd already been feeling that way.

Di Roy looked royally confused - so much so he'd even stopped eating all together. "What could you possible owe him?" He asked her, low enough for the person in question to be unable to hear their conversation.

She shrugged lightly, then explained. "Even if he had just let me go back then I wouldn't have survived so.. He's helped me a lot." She finished off, remembering Grimmjow's words not to talk too loudly about her memories and try not to let it show much she disliked how this place worked. And then, took a bite of the Hollow in front of her.

Her current eating-companion still looked confused. "You're a fucking strange one, you know that?" He asked her, shaking his head as she dug his teeth into the Hollow in front of them as well.

She laughed. "Yeah, I've been told that."

"Oi, Kitten." Grimmjow called out loud, stopping any further conversation she could have had with Di Roy. "Eat up, we're going hunting." He told her.

She sighed lowly. Would he ever get enough of that? "Right."

* * *

"Hunting isn't the real reason you pulled me out here, is it?" The little Kitten asked, pretty much hitting the nail on the head.

He shook his head as he trotted ahead. "No, it isn't." He confirmed, not at all surprised she'd figured it out.

She easily kept up with his pace. "If it's about me telling Di Roy and Nakeem about how we met and all that, then I'm sorry. I wasn't aware you didn't want it told." She quickly apologized before he could say anything.

"That's not it." He told her. "Though I would really fucking appreciate it if you don't just go blabbering about random shit like that everywhere." He added, sending her a look to emphasize how much he meant this.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll try to restrain myself." She replied with a little smile. "Haven't told anyone anything about my memories though." She quickly added as well.

"Know you haven't." He said. That, at the very least, he knew she knew not just to talk about out loud. She'd also done fairly well at hiding her opinions about their dinner. Had she been obvious, he'd have already heard about it from some of the others. "Speaking about that, we might have a problem." He told her, finally getting to the topic he'd wanted to talk to her about.

"A problem?" She repeated confusedly and worriedly.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "Shawlong is way smarter than I am and I could see you were acting different before I knew about your memories and all that stuff. So either you really completely erase any and all traces of you remembering anything or he catches on." He warned her. He knew she was right now wondering what the harm could be in letting him know, but then also knew she wouldn't dare risking all those people if she could avoid it in any way.

She nodded. "All right, I'll do my best."

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait..! You WHAT?!" Di Roy basically screamed right into the Kitten's face.

"She said she fought a dragon, my brother." Yylfordt replied calmly, though he obviously didn't know what the hell to believe either.

"I cannot fathom that such a creature actually exists." Shawlong commented, clearly also caught off guard. Then again, since this whole damn conversation even started, that was pretty much the standard.

So yeah. She couldn't keep it under wraps for much more than a pair of weeks. Shawlong, and apparently Edard too, had had their suspicions for quite a while. She did try hard though, but not hard enough.

In the end, Shawlong had brought it up, so they decided to just tell them all. It seemed like they wouldn't get rid of these guys anytime soon anyway, so it really was a huge burden off their shoulders to not have to run around with that bomb all the time.

And the Kitten was apparently comfortable enough with letting them know at this point. She was certain none of them meant her any harm. In his mind, that was just the naïve thinking which would one day get her killed. But she couldn't shake it off, it seemed. She literally went into the world thinking every person she had yet to meet was just a new friend.

He couldn't relate.

And he wasn't quite sure it was completely safe to tell them everything yet - not that he could stop her though. Especially that silent as fuck Nakeem fucker. He was weirding him out. Even with this kind of revelation, he didn't even twitch or come close to saying a single word. It was damn creepy!

"He was gigantic. If I have to make an estimate, one - only a single one - of his claws was as big as Nakeem." The Kitten said pretty calmly, this clearly not being the first time she told this story.

"Holy fuck." Di Roy could only mutter as that settled in his mind. Grimmjow could only agree, it was a ridiculous - but awesome - story. Which was why he hadn't really gotten around to believing it yet. Even after all this time, it was just too much.

Edard looked a little shaken at the idea as well, but somehow kept a somewhat serious expression. "What a formidable foe it must have been." He stated almost - but not quite - dreamily. Pretty sure, judging from her stories, that no one would have wished to be there when that thing decided to go on a rampage.

She nodded. "Yeah, it was. Aaand we couldn't beat it either." She said. Grimmjow couldn't help smirking at what was coming up, knowing it was even more unbelievable than the dragon-part. "We were literally all on the verge of dying, when the dead spirit of our first guild master showed up and used her magic to protect us." She said, making a dramatic pause and only speaking again when it looked like they were all about to ask what she did. "By keeping us in a time-warp for seven years." She finally revealed, a smile on her lips.

Most of them actually, physically moved back in shock at this revelation. The first one to bounce back and answer was Yylfordt. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but that is awfully hard to believe." He commented, actually sending the Kitten and apologetic look. Di Roy was of the same opinion and nodded in agreement.

"Well." She said almost in a sigh. "I didn't really expect you to believe me right off the bat with something like this." She reassured them.

"Don't worry about it." He added, grinning widely. "I still don't believe it."

She looked at him with something which honestly looked like a pout to him. "Rude." She simply said.

"You do realize that you just told us that you fought and were almost killed by a frigging dragon, a dead ancestor of yours came back to life and teleported you guys seven years into the future. Right?" Di Roy summed up, taking a deep breath as he had just emptied all he had in his lungs.

The kitten looked at him thoughtfully. "When you put it like that it does sound a little bit crazy." She finally conceded.

"I know!" Di Roy yelled in something akin to frustration. "But what happened next though?" He asked as he got himself comfortable once again.

A burst of laughter exploded from Grimmjow's lips.

* * *

She sped right ahead, running as fast as she could without using the Sonido. On the other side of Yylfordt, she could see their current prey. She pushed off the ground and landed on her friend's back with perfect precision. She ran up as fast as she could. She didn't want him to move around and catch their prey's attention, after all. Reaching the base of his hunched-over neck, she jumped off with a push of both reiatsu and magic and flew through the air.

She managed to angle herself in the air and then dove straight down towards it. The wind rushed past her incredibly fast, but it was still nothing like the Sonido, so she could control it just fine. She crashed right into their prey's thick-as-a-whole-goddamn-building neck and latched onto it with her teeth.

The creature whined, then tried to shake her off. This only made her dig her claws even further into its skin. She could basically feel all its muscles working around them. For extra safety-measure, she also roughly smacked her tail against their gigantic shoulder. The many pointy ends dug into its skin and got stuck as well.

She noticed Yylfordt and Di Roy distracting their prey so that she wouldn't get smacked like a fly.

She growled into the meat in her mouth, doing what she could to resist eating the delicious food. Instead, she focused on charging up a Regulus' Cero deep in her mouth. It would shoot straight through its neck and probably go through the tip of its snout. And that came true when the enchanted Cero shot cleanly through the throat, up through the chin and out the top of its nose.

Before the thing actually smacked her, she quickly jumped down on the ground again while it roared in agony. It then turned to her angrily, its breaths coming in short bursts. "You damn, fucking ant! How dare you do this to me?! I'll fucking kill you!" It roared at her.

She looked up at it calmly, seeing Yylfordt charging a Cero of his own to her far right. "For your information, I'm a lion." She informed him, knowing it'd piss the guy off even more. "And no, you won't." She then said, nodding towards Yylfordt, who it then looked towards.

In that very same moment, the Cero flew out and hit it square in the forehead. For a moment, it seemed frozen on the spot, but then all strength left it and it collapsed on the ground, lifeless.

She nodded to the two with her. "Good work, guys." She said. They had her back throughout this battle - it would have looked very different without them present. "Let's get this guy back while he's still fresh." She added.

"Please." Yylfordt said as he approached. "You did all the word for this big guy, sister. We couldn't have done it without you, girl!" He told her as he swung the newly fallen Hollow over his shoulder. "Let me take this one back. Our brother, Grimmjow will not be overly happy if we only return with one kill, so you two go on hunting." He said. Despite the soft tone, it was clearly not up for discussion.

She nodded seeing his point. "All right. Thank you, Yylfordt." The big guy nodded, then disappeared, sondidoing back to camp. She turned to her remaining companion. "Well then, let's go, Di Roy."

He was grinning excitedly. "You bet'cha I'm going~!" He almost sang as he rushed on ahead. She could only shake her head at his antics.

* * *

"All right, Kitten. Let's go back now." Grimmjow said, smirking as he saw the annoyed look on her face. Recently she'd had a really short fuse - the single and only downside to being around him it seemed. And he honestly loved entertaining himself by taking advantage of it.

She growled in irritation. "You really need to drop that damn name, Grim. It's getting on my nerves." She told him angrily. Recently, she'd also gotten comfortable with that shortened version of his name. Suited him fine - at least his wasn't as humiliating as the one he had for her.

"I know." He grinned, looking at her from the corner of his eyes amusedly. "That's why I'm using it, of course." He laughed, then sprinted off and away before she could catch him.

"Fuck you!" She yelled after him. Fair enough. Especially since he'd left her with the humongous piece of meat of a Hollow that they'd just taken down. Since the two of them weren't so big in size, it was a pain in the ass to drag all the way back to camp.

Feeling her catching up, he began sonidoing before she actually had a chance to drop her luggage on him.

Of course it took them no time to reach their destination, though she was breathing quite a lot harder than he was. Whether that was actually from exhaustion or just anger would forever remain a mystery. He knew where to place his bet though. And it wasn't on her being tired.

She glared at him as she finally dropped the prey. "You're a grade-A asshole, you know that?" She asked him, both too tired to have this conversation, but also wanting to argue at the same time.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Yep, I know and I don't regret a thing." He told her amusedly, loving the groan of frustration she released following his statement. With that, he turned to the others, who'd also managed getting back seemingly pretty much at the same time as they had. "Dinner time, everyone!" He called out, after which everyone dug into their respective meals.

They'd just finished up when Shawlong approached the two of them while the other four were watching with rapt attention from behind. "There is something we wish to discuss with the two of you." He stated firmly.

Grimmjow perked up where he'd been sitting and looked up at Shawlong somewhat confusedly. "Well, this is new…" He commented. "What's up?" It was obvious from Shawlong's and everyone else's behavior that this was pretty important and pretty heavy.

Shawlong folded his hands behind his back formally, before speaking again. "We have come to the conclusion that it is indeed impossible for us to reach the revered rank of a Vasto Lorde." He told them calmly, though a distinct feeling of irritation and envy could be felt from him.

The Kitten frowned. "Why would you think that? You have to work hard to become it - no one said it was going to be easy." She argued confusedly. It was what these guys had been fighting for when they met them. Are they really giving up now?

Shawlong shook his head. "That was my belief initially as well. I - and the others too - were convinced that if you just eat enough Hollows, one day you will become a Vasto Lorde. But it would seem I was wrong." He admitted, regret clear in the way he began pacing. "You see, by now I have eaten thousands upon thousands of Hollows. Naturally, I have gotten stronger, but I can feel that I in no way am getting any closer to being a Vasto Lorde." He explained, stopping up in front of the two of them again. "That is why I believe it will be impossible for myself to become one of the lucky ones. I see now that it takes something very special to actually be one of those chosen few. And I do not own this trait." He concluded.

Edard spoke up from behind him. "None of us do." He harshly told the two very confused Hollows in front of them.

Right as the Kitten looked prepared to protest, the guy continued on. "That being said, I have no doubts in my mind that the two of you will one day become Vasto Lorde." He said, to which the other four nodded along solemnly. "You both possess that rare something that I lack. I cannot tell precisely what it is, however I am certain of that fact and no one can convince me otherwise." He told them firmly, showing them his resolution.

"Thanks… I think." Grimmjow said, muttering the last part. When he got a scalding look from the Kitten, he could only shrug. What the hell was he supposed to say in this situation? He had to say something!

Shawlong continued unaffectedly, though. "Alas, it would seem we are no longer able to follow your path as closely as we have now. We will only serve to slow you down. However should you ever need our assistance, then we will be prepared to help any way we can." He told them regretfully.

"That's okay, we could ask for nothing more from you." The Kitten said, touched by the speech they were being given, it seemed.

The tall and thin Hollow nodded. "We thank you for your understanding as well." He said, to which he was rewarded two nods in reply. "As we part our ways, there is one last favor we wish to ask of you." He announced.

She quickly nodded. "Of course, we'll do anything. What can we do for you?" She asked.

When Shawlong looked at him for consent, he nodded towards the Kitten. "What she said."

Shawlong nodded again. "Again, we sincerely thank you." He told them, bowing lightly. "You see, while we no longer strive to become stronger, reversely we naturally do not wish to regress either. There is one known method to stop a Hollow's growth - both up and down. And that is if a piece of his mask has been eaten." He explained and with that said, the other four approached as well. "That is why, the favor we will ask of you is to eat a piece of our masks so that we will neither progress nor regress. Can you grant us this?" He asked once again.

Grimmjow exchanged a single look with the Kitten, then nodded. "Obviously. That's no problem." He reassured all the much bigger Hollows in front of them.

Shawlong nodded once again in thanks and then broke off a piece of his mask, only to then further break it into two pieces. "I wish you all the luck in your endeavor to become Vasto Lorde and king. Do not forget to notice us of your victory when you have achieved it." He asked of them.

Grimmjow nodded as he and she both took their piece and ate it. "Don't worry, I will." He promised with a hollow grin. When he became Vasto Lorde _and_ king, the whole world would know it.

Next up was Edard, he quickly followed in Shawlong's fottsteps, broke a piece off and made it into two. "No matter what happens, it all happens for a reason. Don't give up in whatever you do." He told them seriously.

They both nodded in thanks and ate his mask as well. "That's the last thing we will do." The Kitten assured him.

Di Roy stepped up and did exactly the same as the other two. "Don't forget to leave a path of blood and destruction wherever you go for me, okay~?" He asked in a sort of cutesy voice, which contrasted completely with his words.

Grimmjow snorted in laughter. "I'll do it, but it won't be for you." He replied, to which he was awarded with a loud laugh.

Nakeem made short work of the pieces and uttered a single word. "Bye." It was quite literally the first time he had heard that guy talk - which was the reason the guy was still not on the list of people he trusted just somewhat yet. He was just too damn suspicious.

The Kitten smiled and nodded. "Goodbye Nakeem. I'll look forward to the next time we'll see each other again." She told him. Grimmjow didn't share the same sentiment.

Finally, there was Yylfordt, who looked about ready to let a pair of waterfalls fall from his eyes. "Dangit. It will be hard to keep on going without you two sweeties around. I will miss you to hell and back!" He sobbed, shakily managing to break his piece off as well.

Aaaand of course, emotional as she was, the Kitten was just as ready to spill some water. "I'll miss you a bunch too, Yylfordt. I'll miss all of you. Thanks for everything, you guys!" She said shakily, clearly fighting her inner emotions from breaking free.

"Yeah, see you all around sometime." Grimmjow said looking hard for something else to say. "Don't you go and get yourself killed in the meantime though." He warned them. Bingo, his kind of goodbye.

With that, she smiled a tiny smile at him. "Well then.. Looks like it's just the two of us again, huh?"

* * *

 **And that's the end of that..! Damn long, if I do say so myself.**

 **In case I failed in making this visible, this chapter spans over a hell of a lot of time. Weeks. Months. Many months. They were with this group for a long time.**

 **So yeah, there's been a few of you continuously commenting about how you want the vicious Lucy back, want her to grow and become the strongest Espada ever, you want her to become a Vasto Lorde and all that. Well. To that, all I have to say is, I already got most of the story planned. And how strong she is going to be too. And she'll have her badass moments - just as she has had in this chapter. But it's a process, she can't just go from a weak Arrancar to the strongest Hollow out there from one chapter to another, it's to be done gradually, if that was the case. She has a lot of things to work with mentally - though she's come far. So yes, patience, my friends, is a virtue. Your wishes has been noted, though.**

 **Now as for the chapter…  
So we met this group, which Grimmjow also met in the cannon story - though with my own inclusion: Dio Brando. Now… You might recognize this name from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (And if you don't, I urge you to go read/watch the first parts of the series), and you would be correct. Fun fact - which was the reason I chose this name - is that 'Dio' means 'God' in Spanish. So yeah. The leader of this little gang called himself a god.  
Of course, this will not be the last time we see these characters either - just as with Harribel. They most definitely will return. **

**To return to Lucy, she's undergone a change I hope most of you were able to spot. As the story has progressed, she mentions Fairy Tail a little less. She gets a little bit more aggressive, and as Grimmjow himself commented, also short-tempered. Strength-wise, she's now not all that far from him either, especially when she adds her magic to the mix. So there's that too.  
**

 **And then I'll stop babbling any further now… Again, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and commenting! Keeps me going, honestly.**

 **~Line464d**


	7. Chapter 7 - Encounters

**Chapter 7 - Encounters**

 **A fun little game for you guys. In this chapter I've hidden a quote from one of Bleach's characters, which I personally found awesome when I heard it and it's also from the Arrancar arc of it. Can you find it and name who says this particular thing?**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Nope. Unfortunately-done-with-their-mangas #1 and #2 own the characters presented in this story…! - If I did, well.. You bet'cha we'd have cliffhangers and pairings all over the place then :3 (Not sure that'd be a good thing either)**

* * *

Lucy drowsily blinked as she woke up from her slumber. Taking a moment to actually wake up and orient herself again, she found out why she'd woken up. Right next to her, Grimmjow had gotten extremely tense and had gotten up to scout around.

It was in situations such as these where sleeping right next to each other came in handy. When there was a possibility of an incoming threat or anything like that, it was easy to wake the other one up. Even more so, since the both of them were light sleepers, just him tensing up like that and getting up from lying down was enough to wake her.

She resisted the urge to yawn and gently shook her head, shaking the sleepiness off of her. "What's up, Grim?" She asked him lowly as she got up in a sitting position as well.

Not even looking at her, Grim kept staring ahead a something she couldn't see. She could faintly feel his pesquisa being alive. "He's not far away." Was all he cryptically said, a low growl erupting from the back of his throat.

She sighed when the guy got up and began moving the direction of whatever he was feeling. More like, whoever. And why was it he didn't feel like telling her anything about it?

Quite annoyed, she got up and followed him. Closing her eyes for a moment, she sent her pesquisa out to find whatever it was he was so fixated on. Her eyes shot wide open when she felt the incredibly sinister and powerful reiatsu ahead of them. A dark mood fell over her. So it was finally time, eh?

"There he is, straight ahead!" Grimmjow growled, speeding up aggressively, making it a little difficult for her to keep up. She wasn't quite as eager as he was after all. "Hurry up! Before that dick tries to run away!" He told her somewhat angrily.

She nodded without a word and continued fighting to keep up with his current speed. She should save up as much energy as she could, this fight would by no means be an easy one.

As she had expected him to, he also soon told her the plan of attack. "You rush him right from the beginning, then I'll get the fucker when he's distracted. I won't take him down, but it will hurt him. From there, improvise." He yelled at her through the passing wind. She could just barely hear him, but it was enough.

Yes, she could do this. It wasn't like this was the first battle they'd have to improvise themselves through. This was no different from all the other times.

Even if it was Ulquiorra.

And she had no doubt that it was. He was the only one who'd have Grimmjow acting quite like this. Especially since he'd gotten himself convinced that to become a Vasto Lorde, one had to kill and eat a Vasto Lorde. Besides, the reiatsu she had felt resembled the one she'd felt her first day here a lot. This strong a reiatsu could only belong to a Vasto Lorde.

As of yet, it didn't seem like Ulquiorra was trying to run away, though she was sure he had noticed them coming from a mile away. From what Grimmjow had told her, he often wanted to test him before attempting to get away. So that was probably what he was doing now as well. Grimmjow probably knew this too, he wasn't slowing down either way. He was probably waiting for them..

Through using the sonido, they soon reached the bat. He'd seemingly been sitting on a rock only to get up once they came into his sight.

Having a feeling he was more so preparing to talk a little with the two of them rather than bracing himself, she continued to rush ahead, even when Grimmjow slowed down. Using the momentum she got through the sondio, she rammed straight into the unprepared Vasto Lorde, making him fall to the ground painfully.

He may have a long-term relationship with Grimmjow he might have wanted to talk about but she wasn't even sure it was possible for her to care much less. She was here to fulfill a promise she'd made quite a long while ago, not to paint each other's nails like some kind of slumber-party.

While her opponent was still disoriented, she quickly bared her teeth and bit down at the base of one of the bat's wings, rendering him unable to fly. Though he didn't say a sound to show whatever pain he was in, he instead woke up from it. With a surprising amount of strength - considering his relatively small frame at least - Ulquiorra quite literally burst up on his feet, roughly pushing her off. Before she could react, she'd also received a kick in the side, which sent her skidding across the sandy ground.

As he somewhat slowly approached her again, he spoke. "I remember you." He stated as he reached her. She was still getting to her feet when yet another powerful kick collided with her chest and pushed all the air out of her lungs. She could taste her own blood on her tongue - and sort of surprisingly, it tasted metallic, as she was used to - and could smell his on his foot, which he'd been stupid enough to kick right into one of her exterior bones. "You've gotten stronger." He then added as he raised his finger charged with reiatsu and pointed it at her head. Just as he had the first time. "But not strong enough."

She was about to duck and roll away from the Cero he was aiming at her when Grimmjow came charging, locking his jaws around the Vasto's shoulder and forcing him away.

Ulquiorra quickly swung back with his arm, managing to elbow Grimmjow in the throat, forcing the other Hollow to let go with a grunt. The bat looked down at him from the corner of his eye. "Good plan, bad execution." He told him almost sounding disappointed. "Why did you not aim for my throat?" He then asked.

Grimmjow looked up at him defiantly. "That would be no fun." He answered as an almost psychopathic expression took hold of his face." I want to torture you till you don't have any more damn blood in your fucking body. I'll tear you fucking limb for fucking limb. And I'll keep on going to my heart's content and you're nothing more than a tiny pool of blood." He told him, then broke out laughing maniacally.

Ulquiorra looked down at him, a blank look on his face. "Your… Heart?" He slowly asked.

Warning signals blasted off in her head when she saw the bat pointing two fingers towards Grimmjow. Was he charging another Cero?! She jumped to her feet and let her magic course though her faster than she could remember it ever having done. "Lion's Brilliance!" She yelled, letting her golden magic explode out from her, blinding Ulquiorra completely with its light. It was one of Loke's techniques, used to blind foes but not allies momentarily. The perfect spell in this situation.

She wasted no time and lunged at Ulquiorra while his guard was down. She landed on his back with all four claws bared. She latched onto his shoulders and back roughly, coloring her belly green from the force put into it.

Looking at Grimmjow over Ulquiorra's shoulder, she nodded. "Now, Grim!" She yelled at him. Ulquiorra was blinded and probably more focused on her, who was on his back right now, rather than Grimmjow who had been charging a Cero. A mistake on his part.

Grimmjow growled as he released the crimson Cero out of his mouth and towards Ulquiorra. She could feel how he twitched in surprise at the approaching beam and knew his sight had returned enough to see that at least. That much she had expected.

What she hadn't expected was for him to turn around almost 180 degrees. She watched with wide eyes, unable to do anything, as the Cero rushed right at her and she shrieked in pain when it drilled through her shoulder. It came from a crooked angle, so it only hurt one of her shoulders.. But damn, did it fucking hurt!

With the strength leaving her momentarily, she let herself fall off Ulquiorra's back, figuring she'd probably just suffer even more unnecessary damage if she kept hanging there.

Needing a moment to collect herself and get back up again, Grimmjow quickly dashed towards Ulquiorra, demanding his attention. He looked pissed, but didn't comment on the miscalculation. No use crying over spilt milk, huh? Typical him.

She watched as Grimmjow bit down on Ulquiorra's arm and roughly tore it back and shook his head as he pulled - like a tiger did when it had its teeth buried in its prey. And just like it did for the tigers, it also did for Grimmjow. A loud snap could be heard and when Grimmjow took a bite of the arm before letting it go, it also just hung lifelessly at Ulquiorra's side.

While her companion seemed to admire his work, she saw Ulquiorra spread his large wings - even the injured one. He wasn't able to fly though, so… With a powerful beat, he pushed a storm of wind directly towards Grimmjow, who couldn't even keep his feet planted on the ground from the force of it.

She growled. Something had to be done about that, and she'd already had enough time to regenerate. The pain only stung a little.

Not giving Ulquiorra a break, she dashed forward only to lash out and drag both front paws' claws over the thin texture of his wings, slashing them into useless strips.

Before she could get the other one, her target spun around and delivered a kick straight to her jaw.

In the meantime, Grimmjow had gotten up as well and was charging at Ulquiorra as well, seemingly aiming for the wing she hadn't been able to do. Ulquiorra had seen this coming though and cut the feline off by slapping him with the very same wing he'd been aiming for.

Once again, Lucy lunged forward and clamped down on the Vasto Lorde's side. With a violent pull, she tore the meat off and immediately ate it, reveling in the momentary boost the luxurious food gave her. Instead of pausing to let him feel the pain, she jumped and dragged her claws down the length of his back. The wounds immediately began spewing with blood in every direction possible. She could almost see how much the blood loss weakened the Hollow in front of them.

It was enough for Grimmjow to be able to tear his other wing apart as well though.

This seemed to be enough for Ulquiorra, because suddenly his overwhelming reiatsu sprang to life all around him dangerously. It was literally visible all around him and looked like an angry flame. The output in itself healed his broken arm right in front of their eyes. "I have had enough of you two pests. Let us end this!" The bat yelled and visibly charged a Cero in his hand. But it wasn't an ordinary Cero - this one was much, much bigger than any Cero she had ever felt.

And he was pointing it directly at Grimmjow, who was charging at him once again, having not noticed the difference yet. Something about this whole situation gave her an incredibly odd and strong sense of déjà vu.

"Gran Rey Cero."

Before she knew what she was doing, her body moved of its own and she sped right past Ulquiorra and his beam with the sonido and rammed right into Grimmjow, sending him flying away.

He looked up at her, pissed. "What the he-"

The gigantic, green Cero blasted off from Ulquiorra's fingers and straight towards her, who was completely frozen in place as she felt the power behind this thing. She would not survive this.

"LUCY!" She faintly heard Grimmjow yell. It was the only thing that made her not just give in and accept death. With a last effort made from pure stubbornness, she threw herself down flat on the ground.

A searing pain tore through her left side, all the way across, and seemed to burn everything both inside and out. She couldn't stop the reflexive scream which bubbled up in her throat and burst out unstoppably. It felt like everything to the left of her had been torn off completely.

The beam itself soon disappeared, but the deafening throbbing it left behind was almost worse than it ever was. For a while, she could only lie there and stare straight ahead. She was afraid that if she moved any at all right now, everything inside her would fall apart and roll out of her. That and she fought the urge to continue screaming at the all-compassing pain. Even blinking hurt.

"Shit." She barely heard Grimmjow mumble to her right. That only made her want to see the damage done to her even less. It was really not good this time around.

"Impressive." Ulquiorra commended from in front of her, genuine surprise in his voice. "I did not think anyone would be able to survive that technique, but apparently I was wrong." It might have been said with the intention of being a compliment, but it felt much more like he was patronizing her.

Grimmjow probably felt the same way as well as he began snarling angrily at Ulquiorra, not even moving his eyes from his target as he spoke to her. "Kitten, just stay down there. I'll take care of the rest." He told her, and it clearly wasn't up for discussion.

She gritted her teeth and instantly regretted it. She felt so useless like this. She couldn't even uphold her end of their deal. But she didn't dare standing up at this point… She'd probably just be a deadweight even if she could though. Once again, she was the damsel in distress.

Grimmjow fired up for his reiatsu as well, letting the bloodthirsty energy dance all around him - just as Ulquiorra's did. Looking each other in the eye, the two rushed at each other in perfect synchronization, almost as if someone had given them a signal. They clashed in the middle with talons, claws and teeth flying everywhere so fast she could barely keep up with them.

Grimmjow hit Ulquiorra where she'd taken a bite earlier. It made the bat freeze momentarily and allowed Grimmjow to bite down on his am. He bit so had she could see the blood forcing itself up, out of the punctures and past the teeth, even from where she was. Ulquiorra retaliated by hacking the side of his hand down at the base of Grimmjow's neck.

Grimmjow didn't let go though, he just stared up at Ulquiorra. That was until he pushed his paw up in his face with all four claws out, probably hoping to get just some kind of damage off.

Getting annoyed, Ulquiorra grabbed Grimmjow around the neck and hauled him off, clearly not caring how much more damage that did to himself, and threw him away. Grimmjow easily landed on his feet and looked at Ulquiorra almost amusedly. The grin soon disappeared when his hind leg was struck by a little Cero.

Getting even more frustrated with herself, she glared at Ulquiorra. There was a reason Grimmjow had accepted her bargain back then - the power of a Vasto Lorde was nothing to sneeze at. Grimmjow might be able to win it still, since Ulquiorra wasn't exactly unharmed either, but he would leave with some very serious injuries if it continued like this.

Grimmjow didn't allow the injury to be of greater hindrance to him and proved this by charging forward again. Not only that though, when Ulquiorra took up a defensive stance, he accelerated even faster using small bursts of sonido. He lowered his head and intentionally rammed right into Ulquiorra's arms, which he held in front of himself in an x-shape. That was a mistake though, even if he managed to remain upright and standing.

The momentum Grimmjow had built up with the sonido was too much for his arms to handle. She didn't even know how many snaps she heard, but it was definitely a damn lot. They both also looked all wrong when Grimmjow pulled back again.

Ulquiorra looked beyond annoyed now and his reiatsu flared up even more, though it did nothing to heal his arms. Instead it was much more dark and sinister. He was angry. And he clearly realized that if he didn't give it his all, there was a chance he wouldn't get out of this alive.

In a flurry of speed neither she nor Grimmjow could keep up with, Ulquiorra had delivered a powerful kick into Grimmjow's side. And it looked like he had also made ample use of the long and sharp talons on his feet. The kick sent her partner flying incredibly far and skidding even further, which scraped a million small holes on his side.

Ulquiorra was by the panther's side almost as soon as he'd stopped skidding. "This has gone on long enough. You lose, Grimmjow." He declared and then actually jumped up on Grimmjow. All air left him and he could barely even breathe with the weight of the bat on top of him.

A vicious anger sparked to life in her and as soon as she saw Ulquiorra getting ready to jump again, her resolve only got stronger.

She wouldn't just lie down here and watch like some damn princess. She wouldn't let a single, goddamn injury incapacitate her like this. She'd been burned, frozen and cut almost every day for more than a year. She'd been beaten to a pulp so many times she couldn't even attempt to count it. She'd been tortured to within an inch of her life more than once. She'd killed, eaten and gotten into various life-threatening battles every single fucking day for the longest time now. And every time, she had bounced back. She'd gotten up again and continued to fight.

She could do that now too.

Magic and reiatsu exploded violently all around her in a perfect combination. She glared at the bat, who was staring back at her in shock. This guy.. This guy had hurt her so much. He'd forced her to fight for her life every single day. He was now stomping around on the one person in this place who'd made sure she'd survive to see another night. And he was jumping around on one of her closest friends.

She growled dangerously at him, her magic growing in intensity alongside her anger. And her bloodthirst. She would see this bastard's blood. And there was no way around it.

The rush of power and adrenaline number her pain entirely. She sprang forward even faster than the Vasto Lorde had just moment ago. She charged right into him, pushing him off Grimmjow roughly.

The bat landed on his already mauled back with a thud. It sent all the air out of his lungs. She didn't even consider giving him a chance. She quickly dove down and ground her teeth into the soft flesh at the nape of his neck. She tore it off only to spit it out. Only to bite down on his still broken arm.

She felt him trying to move his legs. She placed her hind paws on each of them. The added weight was enough to keep him in place. She coiled her tail around the other arm. The pointy ends dug into his skin. Dangerously delicious drops of blood reached her tongue. She bit down more. Tightened her grip around his other arm. Even more green came to her.

She ended the moment. Ripped her tail off. Green spouted everywhere. The sound was absolutely beautiful. She pulled. Shook her head. Forced the meat off. And spit it out. She couldn't help but giggle at the look in his eyes.

She lifted one paw. Let one claw pop out. She put the tip to the black line. The one right under his eyes. She pulled it down. More of the delicious blood appeared. She followed the black line. Black turned to green. Down the cheek. The jaw. Created her own line down the throat. Slowly. The chest. And she stopped.

He jabbed his head up. The long horns dug into her shoulders. She growled angrily. A paw on his face. All claws out. She pushed him away. The horns came out. Both tips green.

She looked down at him angrily. How fucking _dare_ he?!She put all her weight in her hind legs. Growled. Then pushed all claws out threateningly. Began scratching. Slashing. His arms. Shoulders. Chest. Throat. Jaw. Cheek. Face. Until it was all green. Until she was all green.

Angry, dark green eyes met her. Suddenly she found herself on her side. A shockwave of pain washed over her from her left, pushing her out of whatever trance she'd been in and back into paralysis. The pain was too much.

The magic and reiatsu disappeared all around her and was instead replaced by three stinging pains from her throat. Her senses were all muddled by the pain and the drain of strength. She hardly even knew what was up or down any longer. She was pretty sure Ulquiorra was telling her something, but she couldn't focus enough to hear what it was.

She closed her eyes for a moment, breathed in deeply to calm herself down. The open wound on her left hurt like nothing else. But her throat… It felt like three pointy things were stuck in it.

She slowly opened her eyes again, a little fearful of what she was going to see. Above her towered Ulquiorra with one foot on the ground and the other one on her throat. The three things were undoubtedly is talons, which he'd stuck into her throat. But why wasn't he just killing her?

She glanced up at him through half-lidded eyes, but his gaze was directed solely on something ahead of him. He didn't even seem to care that his entire chest had been slashed open and that green blood flowed down from it. Dripping down on her, even.

No, he was looking straight at Grimmjow, who had his teeth bared and a snarl rumbling through him. "You have a choice here, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra told the other Hollow in front of him. "You can go for the kill right here and now. Using a Cero or rushing me, it doesn't matter. I won't be able to escape in time." He told him, making Lucy wonder what the hell the other choice could be, which could beat that one. "But if you do that, your little girlfriend here dies." He then warned him.

She sighed internally. That' only make the job easier for him, really. At least… She'd served her purpose as she had promised she would.

"What's the other choice?" Grimmjow snarled, clearly pissed to all hell. He probably just asked out of curiosity. He'd most likely already made his decision.

"You let me go and she lives." He stated calmly.

She snorted, then regretted it as pain shot through her. Yeah right. Hell would have to be frozen over before he'd even begin to consider that. Right now, he had the chance to fulfill one of the biggest goals in his life, so why would he not grab that chance right away?

Her thoughts silenced when she realized he'd been quiet for much longer than it took to voice his opinion out loud. She raised her head a little and looked at him confusedly. He stood, frozen on the spot and stared right at Ulquiorra, who stared patiently right back at him. She could almost hear how the gears turned in his head from where she was lying. He was thinking really hard and honestly looked like a little, lost kitten.

Too tired to keep her head up any longer, she let it drop to the ground again. She wasn't going to keep quiet though. She cleared her throat, ignoring the pain it created. "G-Grim." She somehow managed to say through a seriously dry mouth and throat. She could feel both his and the bat above her's attention on her and quickly continued. "Do.. It.. Kill… Him." She stuttered out hoarsely, then shut up. It hurt too much with the talons there. But it apparently had to be said. Was he unsure whether she was still okay with it or something? She was pretty sure she'd already told him her relationship to promises. She always kept them.

She could feel his gaze on her as a little, amused laugh escaped him. "Luckily, you aren't the one making the decisions." He told her a little resignedly.

Her eyes widened at his words and Ulquiorra shifted his weight a little. "So does that mean you've made your choice?" He asked for confirmation.

"Yes." Grimmjow stated loud and clear. The pause he held was almost painful to endure - especially now she wasn't sure which it'd be. "You can go, Ulquiorra." He said, making her mind blank completely. What? "But next time we meet, you're fucking dead." He then added with an angry growl.

"Congratulations. That was the right answer." Ulquiorra said, seemingly sarcastically, as he slipped his three talons out of her throat, giving her an instantaneous relief. A moment later, he was gone.

But with his disappearance, a whole new reiatsu appeared. It wasn't a new enemy. No, this was something else. And it came from Grimmjow. Though she was entirely too confused to really appreciate she was still alive, she was still curious about what was happening.

As she lifted her head with significantly less pain, she saw something black wrap around Grimmjow. "What the hell…?!" He yelled confusedly, but it seemed that no matter what he did, it wouldn't go away. It wrapped all around him, covering him from sight.

What in the world was this?! It didn't exactly feel dangerous or evil, so she couldn't muster the strength to get up, but she was a little worried about him. They'd both just gotten out of that battle alive somehow and now this happened?

Slowly the reiatsu rose around Grimmjow and small stones and grains of and gradually began levitating all around him. She could feel a light pull as well, but it wasn't enough to pull her up by any means.

Then, suddenly it all fell to the ground gain as the blackness and reiatsu vanished from existence. When Grimmjow stepped into sight again, she couldn't help but stare right at him.

In front of her stood no longer a panther, instead it was now a humanoid male. He was pretty tall and was lean and athletically built. He had very long, wild, light blue hair, which matched his eyes. He was covered in white - kind of like the panther he'd been just now - except from the Hollow-hole on his stomach and up in a v-shape, leaving the middle of his chiseled chest and face free. From the elbow and down he was black instead and his five fingers extended out into claws. Likewise, from his knees down he was also black, but instead of claws, he kept the original paw, though a bit over-sized. A tail with a black tip was also swishing excitedly behind him.

Most notably though, he'd kept the bottom of his mask, covering his mouth and jaw with the jagged teeth of his Adjuchas-form. It followed his jaw and went up into a pair of sharp feline-ears rather than those of an ordinary human.

She could only stare in awe as she realized what had happened. Grimmjow Jaegaerjaques had become a Vasto Lorde.

He seemed to realize the same thing as he stared at his almost human hands. "Holy fuck…!" He said in wonder, excitement growing on his face. "Kitten! I'm a fucking Vasto Lorde!" He then screamed at the sky.

For a moment there, he looked like a little kid, who'd gotten just the right toy for Christmas and she couldn't help but laugh along. This, however, only sent her head-first into an agonizing coughing-fit.

Grimmjow whipped his attention back to her immediately. "Shit.. Sorry!" He said, to which she tried and failed to shake her head. She didn't wish to put a dampener on his joy over this. Obviously he'd be happy, and he should. "Good thing you left some of that bastard lying around." He muttered more calmly, though it was clear ecstasy over the whole revelation still coursed through him.

A moment later, one of the two chunks she'd torn off their former opponent appeared in her sight. It still looked fairly fresh as a little pool of green blood had formed at the bottom of the clawed hand holding it. She stared up at him - was he really going to hand-feed her?

Seeing her look, he growled under his breath. "Damn it, Kitten. Don't make this shit awkward - you fucking need it right now." He told her exasperatedly.

She smiled in humor and then accepted the bite. She quickly gulfed it down as soon as it touched her tongue, enjoying the fantastic taste of it. Vasto Lorde was something completely than Adjuchas in all aspects it seemed.

Grimmjow snorted at her eagerness with the second piece. "If I go out hunting for some Hollow so that you can regenerate faster, will you be able to take care of yourself while I'm gone?" He asked, gesturing to her generally weak state.

She sighed in exhaustion, collected all the strength she had left and managed to roll over to lie on her stomach instead, so her open left side wasn't pressed into the ground. She nodded. "Yeah, I should be able to fire off a few Ceros." She reassured him. She wasn't quite sure if she could do more than two, but the amount of time hunting took him was usually pretty close to nothing, so it would be enough. Besides, she could understand him wanting to test out what he could do completely. Who wouldn't?

This was proven when a big grin lit up on his face. "All right, I'll be back real soon, okay?" He said, but before she could even reply, he was already gone.

She shook her head and laughed. It was so incredibly like him. But it was fine, this gave her a little break.

She dropped her head to her paws, still not daring to look back at the throbbing wound behind her. She could feel that Ulquiorra's small pieces had helped though. Her neck was all healed up now, so she could easily talk and breathe again. And though not completely finished, she could feel it had gotten a little better on her left side as well.

Obviously that wasn't what actually occupied her thoughts. What had made her blank and what still made her blank was the fact that Grimmjow chose to let Ulquiorra go instead of killing him so that she would stay alive.

What was she supposed to make of it? What did it mean? She almost didn't dare guess, because she knew her head would go all sorts of crazy places which would probably be so far from the truth it was laughable.

But what _did_ it all mean?

Besides, that idiot used the quote of himself wrong. They'd gone with her choice last he used it.

* * *

Grimmjow grabbed the Hollow he'd just taken down by the nape of its neck and pulled it up as he back trekking back to where Lucy no doubt still was. The jump from Adjuchas to Vasto Lorde was insane. What had been a somewhat challenging Hollow before was now something he could take down with his eyes closed - like this one.

And he could now also use that ridiculously big Cero that bastard of a bat had fired off and.. That Lucy had saved him from. It was literally just as releasing a regular Cero - it was the regular ones which had changed. They only needed half the amount of reiatsu. So that was pretty cool. It was kinda like that with everything - it all got a ridiculous boost in power.

Pushing the Hollow up under his arm, he figured it was about time he got back to her. He knew she was itching for some answers as much as she should be to eat, because her left side was, nicely put, fucked.

In an instant, he'd crossed the distance between himself and where he knew her to be. He could easily get used to this power-up.

As soon as he returned though, he found her lying in the exact same spot he'd left her. She hadn't even moved her tail. That was a clear testimony to just how much pain she was in right now. He couldn't even imagine it.

She looked up when she felt his presence and was probably about to get up and come closer when he dropped the food right under her nose. "Eat up, Kitten." Was all he needed to say. She dug down in the food with an eagerness he only very rarely saw in her. Yep, she was craving food as much as she did answers.

She took only a very short moment to look at him questioningly as he dumped down next to her and leaned back leisurely. "Aren't you going to get something as well?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "Nah, not right now." He said. Sure, he could always eat some Hollow, but right now first priority was for her to regenerate as fast as possible so she could get back on track. "We'll go hunting as soon as you're healed. I'll just get some then." He said.

She smiled and shook her head. "Of course." She said and took the next bite, chewing it with obvious pleasure.

He glanced down her back. The Cero had completely erased everything it touched of her left side, leaving a big gap in its wake. It was a mystery how she'd even gotten up to keep fighting after that. But then again, she was the only person he knew who was stubborn enough to could force herself to do something like that. And hope to survive it.

But compared to when she'd gotten it, it had already come pretty far. Regeneration really was a blessing. Before, if it hadn't bled as much as it did, her organs most likely had been on clear display. Luckily though, it had mostly been green and bleeding, so nothing was visible.

Now though, it had healed enough to have the organs covered again and the bone-like ribs had returned and created a protective barrier of sorts over the wound. So generally it looked like it was doing well. It took up a whole lot of energy from a person though.

This was also very clear on her. She looked about ready to fall over and sleep even as she ate. Which meant it was the perfect time to have her ask questions, because her mind wouldn't be coming up with a million new ones. Ad she wouldn't be as sharp.

She chewed the last bite and swallowed what she had, before finally speaking. "So why did you do it?" She asked, curiosity brimming in her tired voice.

He smirked a little, having seen the question coming a mile away. "Because I figured this wouldn't be the last time we'd run into that damn bat and you've become a strong asset I've invested a lot of time in. It would be a shame to lose all that hard work just like that." He replied. It was a half truth, but still truth.

"Mmm…" She mumbled sleepily as she worked to get her mind spinning again. "But then I can't keep my promise to you. I know I told you Celestial mages always keep their promises… Right?" She slowly asked with half-lidded eyes. She was only awake through pure stubbornness right now. If you could call that being 'awake' at all.

He grunted. "Well, you'll just have to break your shitty promise this time, then." He told her a little more harshly than he intended. "It's something you did a long time ago." He added a little less harshly. It was about high time she forgot about that crap. Especially if it was what made her take all these damn hits.

She grumbled with closed eyes as she literally fell over him from exhaustion, somehow landing with her big head in his newly-acquired lap. "Rude." She grumbled somewhat intelligibly.

Not knowing what the hell to do with his hands now she was there, he just let them fall down and drop to his sides. Knowing that she'd already fallen asleep, he mumbled to himself. "Well, might as well get used to it. I'm planning to keep you around for a long time."

* * *

They'd just finished eating the Hollow they'd been out hunting a while ago and were preparing themselves to get up and get another one. Three Hollows a day keeps the Shinigami away, as he liked to say.

"So you really don't know how or why you turned into a Vasto Lorde at all? She asked. Not a question she'd asked for the first time either. And she seemed to actually expect a different answer.

He shook his head. "You do know the definition of insanity is doing something again and again and expecting a different outcome, right?" He asked her teasingly. Really, he was getting pretty annoyed with her constantly bugging him about it already. Not that he would have done any differently if their positions were reversed.

She sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're too stupid to figure it out, so I guess I'll just have to do it." She shot right back, an amused glint in her eyes.

He snorted. "Sure. Tell me when you figure it out then." He said, when a thought popped into his head. "Now, that's a way to get a hell of a lot of followers in no fucking time. The guide to becoming Vasto Lorde." He laughed.

She completely ignored him though, in favor of looking through her thoughts. "I'm pretty sure Ulquiorra's comment about the right answer has something to do with it, but what could it mean..?" She asked herself as she tried to find the answer. She'd have to look for a long time. If it just fell from the trees like that, everyone would be Vasto Lorde by now.

The two suddenly jumped up from where they sat when they felt and unfamiliar but fairly strong reiatsu pop up right behind them. "Excuse me, but may I bother you two for a moment?"

* * *

 **Sooooo~ That's over and done with~**

 **Props to anyone who can guess who the person in the end here is~!**

 **Believe it or not, before writing this I had serious doubts about whether I'd actually reach the 5.000 word minimum I put on myself. But, well, then the battle (from when they first spot him till he disappears) actually turned out to be 3.600 word and then it just.. Wasn't much of a problem fitting the rest in.  
Turned out I made it to 6.500 without the A/N's. So I honestly find that pretty impressive. Oh, and hope you liked the battle!**

 **We most definitely got to see some of the vicious, bloodthirsty Lucy you guys've been asking for. So when I say she's got this bloodthirst right since initially turning into a Hollow, you'll ask where the hell I've kept that these last many chapters.  
Well, it's pretty simple. Know how our regular Lucy is a kind-hearted, forgiving, loving [insert synonymous adjectives here] girl? Yeah, well, that Lucy also has a 'Demon-Lucy' side. Basically same concept. When angered to an extreme, the bloodthirsty Lucy will pop up for a visit. And with it comes a power-up due to her magic and the lack of restrictions in her own head. **

**Not to mention though. Very obviously and that I'm without a doubt you guys really caught onto in this chapter, Grimmjow and Lucy's relationship has moved a hell of a lot. Like… Before he only went along with letting her live, because he could kill her after taking advantage of her. Now he gave up one of the biggest goals he had to keep her living. If you don't call this progress, I don't know what to call it.  
And as you might have noticed throughout the battle, the two continuously save each other from death's grasp. Though Lucy is obviously a bit more reckless with it. So that's also something to consider. **

**And of course, finally, Grimmjow became a Vasto Lorde. His looks, of course, are very inspired by his Panthera Resurrección form. So look to that if you're wondering. I made my own changes though.  
Now… Which of you guys can guess how to become a Vasto Lorde? :3**

 **Once again, thanks to all of you who have read, favorited, followed and reviewed on the chapters! I love you to pieces!**

 **~Line464d**


	8. Chapter 8 - Sousuke Aizen

**Chapter 8 - Sousuke Aizen**

 **So.. Yeah, of course most of you guessed who the mystery person was. So here he is, in the title and all!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: So yeah, of course I don't own either Bleach or Fairy Tail, it all belongs to their respective owners. Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima. **

* * *

Grimmjow growled deeply. "What the hell is a fucking Shinigami like you doing here?" He asked the person in front of him.

Lucy was also all tensed up, ready for anything that guy might throw at them, and glared at the Shinigami. He was tall, clad in white robes with black trims and had his sword - the zanpakuto - resting at his hip. Though he made no move to grab it, it was clear in his posture and his brown eyes that he too was on guard. His brown hair was pulled back with only a single, long strand hanging freely in his face.

Something was weird about this guy.. Not only was the fact that a Shinigami was in Hueco Mundo in the first place worrisome enough, but the atmosphere about him was strange. It wasn't directly threatening as such, just… Again, worrisome. He felt weird and it wasn't really the good kind. She quite honestly didn't like him.

He smiled lightly at the question, as if he'd seen it coming. "Yes, I suppose that _is_ strange." He agreed just making the two confused and no less on guard. She had a feeling it was on purpose too - this guy's eyes were brimming with intelligence. He looked at the two shortly. "Let me introduce myself. I am Sousuke Aizen, but most people simply refer to me as Aizen. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." He said and bowed just enough for it to not be an opening to attack.

Grimmjow only got even more suspicious with the guy and how he so easily danced around his question. "I don't care who the fuck you think you are. I want to know what the hell you are doing here and why you think I won't kill you." He snarled at the other guy. Just like her, she had a feeling his instincts were telling him to get rid of this 'Aizen' one way or another.

Aizen just continued to smile as if Grimmjow hadn't just threatened his life. "I am here to offer a proposal which I believe will be beneficial to all of us." He stated with a calmness only found in people who are certain of their success.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously as Grimmjow continued to growl. "And what would that be?" She asked. While her gut was telling her nothing good would come from being around this Shinigami, she couldn't help but be curious about this proposal of his.

Aizen only smiled wider. "It is quite simple, really. You see, the Soul Society is thoroughly corrupt." He started off, just making the two of the stare at him in disbelief. What the hell was he even going on about? This would never convince them of whatever he was trying to convince them to do. "That is why I left it all just a short while ago - I couldn't stand being in the presence of so many hypocrites." He said, genuine anger present in him. She still wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she had an idea… "So I think it's about time something is done, don't you?" He then asked in a much more lighthearted tone.

So he wanted to overthrow the Soul Society? She didn't even have to look at Grimmjow to know he found this as ridiculous as she did. "I don't see how this even remotely has anything to do with us." She said questioningly. If he didn't get to the point soon, he'd lose the both of them. And likely his life as well.

The Shinigami just nodded. "Where you two step in is as my allies." He said and continued on before they had the chance to react. "I can't take down Soul Society all by myself of course so I need strong fighters like the two of you. Together, we will rule both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society as we see fit..!" He said, a hungry expression on his face.

Grimmjow grunted. "Yeah, and I'm guessing you're going to be the king, right?" He angrily asked. She agreed. What this guy wanted was a bunch of soldiers he could order to do his dirty-work for him. None of them would agree to that, and she'd be surprised if any other Hollows would. You'd have to be really desperate to go for this.

Now, Aizen shook his head, stopping them from doing whatever they were about to do. "That's not all, of course. Intelligent individuals such as the two of you would never agree to something like this." He quickly said, an effort to keep them around. "If you agree to this, I can promise you overwhelming power." He added, a sort of smirk on his face.

She looked at him even more suspiciously. To her, this honestly sounded like the equivalent of dark magic - instantaneous strength, but at a costly price. "Elaborate." She told him sharply.

"Of course." He easily agreed. "I'm sure you've heard of the Arrancar - those who attempt to rip off their masks in order to gain strength, through gaining various Shinigami traits?" He asked.

"Yes." Grimmjow confirmed. They'd even fought a few a while back. "We call them cowardly traitors." He told the Shinigami bluntly.

Aizen didn't seem fazed in the least. "They were failed experiments." He continued as if Grimmjow hadn't said anything just now. This guy was incredibly selective with what he heard. "They only managed to split their reiryoku in two - half Hollow and half Shinigami. And they would have to be at least early Adjuchas before they could compare to the Gotei 13 at all." He kept on rambling. "But I have made a breakthrough! I have discovered a method with which you do not simply convert your reiryoku into Shinigami-reiryoku, it is _given_ to you." He said, clearly proud of his discovery.

So… If you'd keep all the reiryoku you already had and then added some Shinigami to the mix, that ultimately gave you more reiryoku to work with. Sounded an awful lot like the Second Origin in her ears and she wasn't quite sure she was prepared to go through that kind of torture again.

Grimmjow seemed genuinely interested now though. If only just a little. "So what? You're just going to give us all a bunch of new reiryoku just like that?" He asked, sounding both suspicious and giddy at the same time.

Aizen nodded. "Yes. You will become so strong that taking over the Gotei 13 will not be a problem in the slightest." He said matter-of-factly.

She tilted her head a little in curiosity. "So what exactly are you going to do if we then decide to turn against you after we've both become Arrancar? We will both be stronger than you, who are only a Shinigami." She asked. She alone was pretty much evenly matched with him right now, which meant he was around captain-level. Grimmjow was many times stronger than him as well.

He smiled. "Good question. I suppose we will just have to see if it happens." He said almost amusedly. "However I have faith the two of you will see the perks of my offer." He said and then turned to Grimmjow. "You are already a Vasto Lord and among one of the very few which exist. You will without a doubt place among the strongest 10 Arrancar in the army I intend to create." He told him.

Grimmjow looked at him with a raised brow. "Obviously I fucking will. But what does that have to do with anything?" He asked. By now, he'd be very annoyed and wishing for this conversation to end real soon. She honestly shared the sentiment, but at the same time, this was interesting.

And if they declined, chances were they'd have this army of his chasing them around all over Hueco just because they didn't join. They probably already knew too much. Likely something Aizen had all planned on.

"The top ten Arrancar in this army will be rewarded with a position not too unlike that of Soul Society's captains. We call them the 'Espada'. You will be included in every decision and be part of planning. You will also have a group of your own choice under you. For example your friend here. We call these your 'Fracción'. I and my other Shinigami companions will not have any influence at all regarding how you lead your Fracción." He calmly explained the blue haired Hollow in front of him.

Lucy's mind got stuck on something he said while Grimmjow seemed to consider the idea. "Exactly how many Shinigami are you?" She asked. This whole ordeal smelled horribly fishy and she wasn't sure she wanted to agree to something like this. But she knew Grimmjow was getting convinced already. She couldn't lie though, it really seemed like a good deal for them too. She just couldn't help thinking there was a hidden agenda to it all.

"Ah, yeah. We are three, including myself. The other two are Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tosen. You will meet them soon enough if you agree to this." He promised her. "And of course, they share my opinion as well." He added.

She sighed internally. It really did sound like a good deal. Besides, Aizen seemed like the kind of guy you'd rather be with than against…

Thinking about it, she was without a doubt Harribel would agree to this as well. The two worlds would be united under one rule, ultimately creating peace. And if everyone were half Shinigami and half Hollow, the necessity to feed to stay alive in all likelihood disappeared. Yeah, she would most definitely agree to this.

"So…" She trailed off, regaining Aizen's attention. "What kind of things would you have your Espada, their Fracción and other Arrancar do?" She asked him, because surely he wouldn't just have them sitting around a table with their thumbs up their asses the entire time.

"Well." He said, considering her question. "As I said, I wouldn't have any influence on an Espada's Fracción. However, I would probably create different facilities for them to take care of. For example protection of our base, Las Noches, which the king of Hollows graciously let us reside in. Healing quarters, perhaps. Maybe even some to be in charge of hunting once in a while, so that you can regenerate as fast as possible should you get injured." He said, then cut himself short of his rambling. "The Espada though. Apart from planning and being the leaders of these factions, I would have them take charge of invasions and in the grand battles." He told her. "Hope that seems satisfactory to you." He added politely.

She looked up at Grimmjow as he simultaneously looked down at her. Should they do this? Their silent conversation was quickly finished and they'd both settled on their decision.

Grimmjow turned to Aizen, who'd been waiting for them to finish deciding, and crossed his arms. "So how does this shit work?" He asked, gesturing to the mask he now wanted ripped off.

Aizen lit up in what was a bright smile by his standards "Excellent!" He said and pulled something up and showed them. It was a beautiful, blue orb caged in a crystal-like ball. "This is the Hogyoku. With its power, the Shinigami reiryoku will harmonize perfectly with your Hollow reiryoku and make you the perfect Arrancar." He explained.

"So what do we do with this?" Grimmjow asked the Shinigami, shrugging as a sign of him still not knowing what the hell to do.

"All you need to do is let the Hogyoku's power wash over you and then rip your masks of when you feel you can. The Hogyoku will take care of the rest." He told them. "Now then, let it begin." He said and seemed to use his reiatsu to make the crystallized cage around the blue orb disappear. It landed in his bare palm. The little, blue orb latched onto Aizen and began fusing with him.

Moments later, it was completely gone, absorbed inside Aizen and had seemingly merged with his reiryoku. A bright flash of light erupted with Aizen at the center and washed over the both of them, blinding them completely. She felt the power in the light and closed her eyes, letting it touch her own reiryoku.

She felt so clearly how the two energies fused inside her. But that wasn't the only thing which changed. She could feel her whole body - everything from her bone-structure to her blood-vessels and even to her organs - shifting around as if in preparation for something bigger.

She felt the exterior bones on her belly shrinking and then disappearing, leaving her with a strange sense of nakedness. The ones on her back also shrunk to the much smaller size of her tail, which she could feel was almost crawling up and for some reason gathering at her hip.

Then she felt her body truly change. Everything about her current form changed. Her legs snapped into place along with her paws, which grew into different forms - two of each. Her back cracked and moved of its own, creating more of an arch than it had before. Even her face changed. Her skin moved along and stretched to fit snugly to her new and more slender form. It didn't hurt at all, but the feeling of it all changing so fast was almost creepy and disgusting.

When her body had slowed down its changing and seemed to getting the last details fixed, she tentatively reached up with one of her reconstructed front paws and pulled at the mask. Much more easily than she had imagined, it let go of her face and was left empty in her grasp.

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the eerily empty mask, which had been her face for such a long time now. It vanished into thin air and left her looking at her very human hands.

She stared in something like awe at what she recognized as her own hand. The one she hadn't seen for such a long time, but had been hers for so many years in a row. The skin was the same, milky color she remembered it to be.

"Wonderful. Welcome to life as Arrancars, you two." Aizen said sort of happily.

Remembering she was in the presence of others, she noticed what kind of posture she had. That of a human playing a cat. Which was strange and entirely inappropriate. She quickly gathered herself, only to realize that though she'd more or less become human, it didn't mean clothes came with the transformation. Alas, she shrieked like only a girl could and hurried down in a crouched pose, locking her arms around her knees in an attempt to cover all her lady-parts, wanting nothing more than to crawl down into a hole in her embarrassment.

Grimmjow snorted in laughter. "Why am I not surprised that you're blonde, Kitten?" He asked rhetorically, obviously finding it all thoroughly hilarious - especially since he didn't seem to have any problems standing butt-naked in front of people.

She glared at him from her crouched position - making sure to not look even a little bit below his chest - and somehow managed to slap his bare leg in irritation. "Shut up, idiot!" She snarled at him. She noticed how his previously long and wild hair was now short and wild instead. The only remnants of his mask was a part of the jaw on his right side, which made her momentarily wonder what her leftovers were.

Before she had the chance to check though, she felt the light materials of clothes being draped over her shoulders. "Not often you meet a Hollow being embarrassed like this, but I suppose it is kind of refreshing." Aizen muttered, probably primarily to himself.

Grimmjow grunted. "Might as well get used to shit like this. She's not normal in the head." He 'helpfully' explained.

She glared at him, then turned to smile a little at Aizen. "Thanks!" She said, his very strange reaction to that not going unnoticed by her. When their eyes met, he visibly recoiled and went a step back, looking incredibly shocked for whatever reason.

However, as fast as it had appeared, it also disappeared, making her wonder if it had even happened at all. "You're welcome." He replied with a somewhat low, thoughtful voice.

Deciding to dismiss it for now, she wrapped the long coat Aizen had lent her around herself, making sure it covered what it should. She noticed how it for some reason bulged strangely at her back, but that she could still feel its pressure, however light it was. It didn't take her long to figure out what it was, even without having to look. It was the remnants of what had been the many sharp, rib-like bones covering her back.

And they continued up her back, neck and into her hair. She reached up into her hair, but before she could even figure out where the remnants led, she noticed something else. Her hair wasn't long and straight. It was in big, soft and completely uncontrollable curls. And it barely even reached her shoulders - though that was probably said curls' fault. She'd actually always wanted to try having curls, but she hadn't imagined it being in this situation she'd get to try it.

Pushing that aside as well, she reached further up until her hands bumped into something hard. Feeling it out, it seemed like she'd kept the ears of her Adjuchas form's mask. Well, at least they weren't bunny-ears. She couldn't have lived with that.

Other than that - from what she could feel right now, everything seemed to be pretty much exactly as she remembered it to be. Well, except from the hollow-hole on her hand, of course.

With this, she returned to look back up at Aize, who was once again stuffing the blue orb, the Hogyoku, trapped in its little crystal cage, away and looked at the two of them. "In a few seconds, a number will appear somewhere on your bodies. Should the number be 10 or above, that means you're an Espada. If not, then it will tell you which number you are." He told them, then looked at her hole-less hand, which peeked out from under the coat she was wearing. "Looks like you're the 69th Arrancar we've created." He said with a little smile and gestured to the hand.

She turned it around and looked at it. It might actually be 69, but to her, it looked much more like Cancer's mark. Was this really just a coincidence or did it mean that the Spirits were watching over her? Just because it felt nice to think about, she decided it to be the latter.

Looking over to Grimmjow, she found him circling around himself in order to find his number as well. That was when she spotted it on his back, right next to his hollow-hole. "Looks like you're the 6th, Grim." She told him, smiling.

"Huh, really? Well then, guess I'm an Espada." He said with a grin, which completely spoiled his nonchalance. The idiot was ecstatic.

She smiled a little and shook her head at him, feeling the curls bob around uncontrollably as she did so.

Aizen nodded. "Yes, it seems you're the sexta Espada. Coincidentally, you're also the sixth Vasto Lorde we've managed to recruit. It is truly an honor." He said with what was clearly fake politeness. Then, he seemed to realize something all of a sudden. "Ah, yes. While I remember.. The weapons on your hips. These are your zanpakuto, quite similar to the Shinigami's, they allow you to access an even greater reiryoku within yourselves." He told them, only then making her notice something which indeed did hang by her hip.

She also quickly found out exactly why she hadn't noticed it in the first place - the feeling of it there was all too familiar. By her side hung nothing less than the weapon she'd used countless times. A whip, of course. It wasn't an ordinary whip either. No, this one was made of the very bones which had once been her tail, all curled up and ready to be used.

"I would highly appreciate it if none of you drew your zanpakuto in the vicinity of Las Noches, as the amount of reiatsu you radiate could potentially make it all crumble together." He told them. Well, that would be troublesome, indeed.

They both nodded and Grimmjow spoke up. "So how about you just take us back to your base and all?" He asked, impatient as always.

"Of course, of course. You should also be introduced to the other Espada as soon as possible." He said and gestured to the direction he'd apparently come from. "It's right this way." He said and promptly disappeared, using the Shinigami-version of Sonido, Shunpo.

The two exchanged gazes before quickly following him. For now, they would play along with the Shinigami's plans.

Feeling him stopping up, they also stopped up, finding themselves in front of a truly gigantic building. More like caste or something like that though. It could hold thousands of Hollows in that palace. And that was including big guys like Gillians. It was huge.

"I welcome you to Las Noches, the base of the Arrancar." He said with an almost proud smile. "Without further ado, let's get the both of you dressed and then we'll begin an introductory meeting exclusively for the Espada, as we now have all ten gathered." He decided.

While Grimmjow nodded, though a little confused, she cleared her throat lightly. "So.. Should I return this sometime tomorrow, then?" She asked. Since she couldn't join the meeting, which was likely to draw out, this was the next-best option.

Aizen turned to her and almost seemed like he had completely forgotten he'd lent it to her. "Oh, yeah that's fine. No need to rush." He said with a nod, then gestured for them to follow him.

And so, they did and entered the gates leading to Las Noches. It was just as grand on the inside as it looked to be on the inside. She was fairly sure she'd never seen a room with such a high ceiling. Their footsteps basically echoed in the room.

Which was why they weren't as surprised by the arrival of the other two Shinigami that Aizen had mentioned as they could have been. "You are back early, Aizen." One of them said. He had dark skin, which contrasted almost beautifully with the white clothes everyone seemed to wear around here, and his hair was fairly long, a dark purple color and in long dreadlocks. And then he wore some strange glasses of some sort.

"Ah. Tosen, Gin." Aizen said in a sort of greeting manner. "Yes, I am. However you don't have to look too hard when looking for a Vasto Lorde." He said almost amusedly. Grimmjow wasn't as amused.

"Ah, what's this? Ya went an' brought us another Vasto?" An eerily creepy voice commented. She didn't hear the next words the Shinigami said, as she could only stare at the person before her.

This… This snake-like, ever-smiling, silver-haired guy with closed eyes. This was him. This was her killer. This man was actually her killer. The one who drove a sword through her chest.

The guy continued to smile that unnerving smile as he looked at the both of them. "So what might yer names be?" He asked seemingly politely, hiding behind his heavy accent, which seemed to forget what 'h's were.

Noticing how she'd frozen on the spot, Grimmjow quickly took the word. "I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. And she's Lucy Heartfilia." He curtly introduced the two of them. "How about you just get us those damn clothes and we get that shitty meeting over and done with?" He rudely asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

When the killer laughed at the other Shinigami's disgusted expression, she tore her gaze away, letting it rest on the marbled floor instead. She was glad Grimmjow was trying to speed things up. She was losing her composure really fast right now, wanting to do a lot of things she shouldn't be. Run. Yell. Attack. Kill. And she could not hold herself together for too long either. And she was without a doubt that losing her cool now would be a really bad idea.

"Of course. Gin, why don't you show them to the sexta Espada's wing and get them settled there? I have a few things I need done before we get started." Aizen asked. She glanced up hopefully, praying to all the gods out there that it wouldn't be the silver-haired man.

To her horror, the gods decided to ignore her prayers entirely. "Yeah, sure. That's no problem." The very person she'd just wished gone replied, smiling that strangling smirk of his. She could almost feel the snakes coiling around her just at the look of it.

"Excellent." Aizen said, then turned to the two of them, though she was still keeping her gaze on the floor, as if attempting to drill a hole in it purely from the power of her will. "I look forward to working with you both. See you soon." He said, then turned around and walked away with the other one - Tosen, she faintly recalled - trailing behind him. She honestly just wanted to go wherever they were going right now.

Gin turned to them and nodded. "It's right this way, just follow me." He said, almost sounding cheery. Though extremely reluctantly, she and Grimmjow followed him. There was nothing else they could do right now but to follow him. "So Ima go ahead an' assume ya're the Vasto-" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Grimmjow. "An' ya're the Fracción." He said and jabbed the other thumb towards her. "Am I right?" He asked with a terrifying smile turned towards them.

Grimmjow nodded. "Yeah, that's right. What of it?" He asked exasperatedly.

Gin didn't seem fazed in the least either. "Oh, it's just that I heard some fellas taking about you guys. Some o' the first guys we recruited, if I don't remember all wrong." He said thoughtfully. "Think there're 5 o' 'em." He added.

Lucy couldn't help but perk up at his words despite her uneasiness with the current situation. "That has to be.. Shawlong and the others." She said mostly to herself and Grimmjow. She didn't know any other groups of people who'd talk about them.

"Oh! The lady speaks~" Gin commented humorously, though none of the other two found it all that funny. He really seemed like the kind of crazy that went from cheery to murderous in .2 seconds flat. And it was honestly terrifying. "An' yeah. I think one o' 'em's named somethin' like that." He then confirmed for her. "Friends o' yer's?" He asked in an unnervingly light tone.

Grimmjow scowled at him. "None of your business, Shinigami." He snarled at him clearly trusting this whole situation as little as she did.

Gin only smiled even wider at his reply. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." He announced. "How 'bout I arrange for 'em ta meet ya guys sometime tomorrow, eh?" He asked.

That was actually… Unexpectedly nice of him. So before Grimmjow got around to shutting him up, she replied instead. "Yeah. We'd like that. Thanks." She told him.

He nodded and turned a corner. "That's a deal, then. An' we're here now." He added at the end, gesturing to the 'sexta Espada's wing', which could easily compete with the ones she'd lived in as a child in the Heartfilia Konzern. They were quite literally huge as hell. A hundred people or even more could live here in homes the size of apartments. "It's all yer's, so go ahead an' do whatever ya wan' with it. Oh, an' if ya wan' some bigger changes, just come tell Aizen, Tosen or me." He told them.

Grimmjow looked at him skeptically. "So, what? If I tell you that I want a swimming-pool filling this whole place, you'd do it?" He asked.

"Yep~" Gin replied with his unending smile.

"What if I want a volcano in the middle?"

"Yep."

A giant room flooded with Hollows that I can hunt and eat?"

"Yep."

"A magical place with unicorns and rainbows?"

"If that's wha'cha wan'."

"Impressive." Grimmjow said and actually meant it. If all that was possible for them to do, she couldn't deny that it was either.

"Ya know, I suggest ya think 'bout this an' then tell us wha'cha wan' sometime tomorrow or somethin' like that." Gin told them. "An' I also suggest ya get dressed an' go down ta the meetin' room - Aizen's waitin' for ya. Just go back the way we went just now an' go straight up the hall instead. It's right ahead, ya can't miss it." He told them before waving and walking away casually.

Grimmjow watched as he left with a raised eyebrow. "You know, Kitten, it's actually possible we found someone even weirder than you. I can't believe it." He told her jokingly.

While she rolled her eyes, she could do nothing but agree with him though. That guy really didn't remind her of the one who killed her. Besides, he didn't have that accent either - though it might be possible for him to just turn it on and off at will. This all only reinforced her belief that he might have a split personality of sorts. Where he could jump between this almost goofy, happy-go-lucky kind of personality to the much darker one she'd seen when he killed her. Because she had no doubts he did.

"So, you wanna tell me why the hell you tensed up like that down there?" He asked her as he approached and opened the door to the first room.

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it's Gin." She told him, only being rewarded with a very confused expression. "I… I think- no. I _know_ he was the one who killed me…" She told him as he opened the one closet in the room they were in, filled with white clothing.

Grimmjow stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at her with a frown. "Gin? Are you sure it was him? - You've said you didn't remember clearly before." He reminded her, almost as if warning her. It was fair enough - she shouldn't judge someone of murder so easily.

But she was sure this time around. "Yes. I am sure. Seeing him again sparked the memory. I know for a fact that he killed me back then." She told him firmly. No one could have a smile quite like his.

"It's just…" Grimmjow said slowly, looking for the right words. "He didn't really react to seeing you again at all, you know." He told her.

She frowned a little. "He just forgot." She reasoned with him.

Grimmjow snorted and turned back to the closet, picking whatever lay on the top. "Kitten. No one would simple just forget going to another fucking world and just killling someone. And I mean _no one_." He told her as if talking to a little kid.

She pouted a little as he had his back turned to her. "Whatever the case, I'm sure it's him." She told him, crossing her arms and glaring at the back of his head.

"Catch this." He said and suddenly threw a pair of articles of clothing at her without any further warning. She only barely managed to catch them, though that also meant he'd have gotten a plentiful look at her. Had he looked, that is. "If you say it's Gin, I'll believe you." He stated as he pulled the pants he'd found on, and only afterwards turned to look at her - who'd been looking away for the sake of privacy. "So what do you want to do about it?" He asked her.

Seeing he was now properly covered, she could finally relax a little. "I don't know.. Nothing for now. We don't even know how strong he is or what he can do yet." She said thoughtfully.

Grimmjow grinned. "Straight for the kill. I taught you well." He laughed almost proudly. "But yeah, good plan of action for now." He then agreed before she could yell at him. "Now, if you'll have me excused, I have that goddamn meeting to attend to." He said, pulled on the little vest-like jacket, which allowed him to show off the hollow-hole, his number and his abs all at the same time.

With that said, he promptly left the room, leaving her to herself. When she could hear that he was far enough away for her to not be able to hear his footsteps, she sighed heavily and painfully as she let herself plop down on the one bed in the room.

Exactly what kind of mess had she gotten herself into this time?

* * *

Grimmjow trudged back to the wing of this goddamn palace which had been dubbed his, all the while grumbling angrily under his breath. Damn bat just had to be everywhere, even in some shitty, worthless, waste-of-time, fucking meeting. And then he even went and had a higher fucking number than him! He'd show that fuck-tard that the number didn't account for their real strength soon e-fucking-nough.

He resisted the urge to kick the door to the room he'd been in earlier and simply opened it and walked in instead. There wasn't anything in here for him to beat up either. And where the fuck was Lucy hiding?

He growled exasperatedly when he heard a noise from the adjacent room, once again resisted the urge to kick the door in and followed the sound. He didn't even have to use his pesquisa to know it was her. No one else would be in his wing. If they were, they'd be killed right off the bat, no matter who the hell they were.

And right enough, he found her lying on her back in the bed in this room. It was 100 percent identical to the other one - a bed in the corner, a wardrobe to the right, a table and a single chair underneath the window. And it was all either black, white or gray. Incredibly boring to look at, to be honest.

"So what the hell are you doing in here?" He asked her grumpily. He'd had a shitty day already and he wasn't in the mood for her to be hiding around in random places.

She tilted her head back to look at him. "Oh, hi Grim." She greeted him as if everything was as it should be. "The clothes in the other room weren't exactly made for women, but the ones in here were. And I figured it'd make no difference if I lay in there and stared at the ceiling or if I was in here and stared at the ceiling." She replied, rolling out of the bed.

And true enough, these weren't the clothes he'd thrown to her. This was some strange white crop-top - of course with the damn black lines at the edge - which seemed to choke her neck, which made him wonder how she even got it on in the first place. That, coupled with the very much shortened version of his own hakama-pants really only covered what was most necessary and nothing more than that. Not that he gave a damn either way.

"So." She said, drawing his attention back to her again. "How was the meeting?" She asked, curious as always.

He grunted in exasperation. "Fucking waste of time." He growled. He hated wasting time. Especially when it was on nothing. "Basically just him telling everyone else the Espada's all together now and that they'll be moving forward with the planning of taking over Soul Society. In other words, exactly what he's already told us." He continued to growl. "And that was all. He had nothing else to say. That fucking asshole." He forced his balled fists into his pockets, the only thing that prevented him from making a hole in the wall.

She clearly found his frustration amusing, as annoying as that shit was. "So can you at least tell me what the rest of the Espada are like?" She asked. Why the hell did she have to ask so many questions right now? He was already tired.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to show her how little he wanted to talk about this right now. It didn't work. "Just a bunch of crazy-ass fuckers." He said, then growled angrily at the thought of _him_. "Especially that damn bat."

Her eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. "Ulquiorra was there?" She asked for confirmation. The growl she was rewarded with was reply enough. "Hm, well that's not too surprising now that I think about it." He whipped his head up to glare at her. She knew this and didn't tell him?! "After all, they did say you were the sixth Vasto they'd managed to recruit and it's not like there's a lot of those guys running around out there, so it makes sense." She concluded. Fair enough. She had a point. Not that he was going to tell her that. "Anyone else we knew in there?" She asked, clearly already knowing she was right with what she was actually asking.

"Yes. Harribel is there too." He confirmed for her. And that bitch had a higher number than he did too. He'd show her as well. When he the energy for it - and that was not right now. "I'm tired." He announced, to which she nodded. It had been a long day already and it was about time it met its end. "I'll be right in there if you need me." He said, pointing to the room next door.

She nodded, though he only barely saw it as he had already turned around to the door. "All right. Goodnight, Grim." She said.

He grumbled some kind of affirmative answer, then left the room. He grabbed the jacket he was wearing and threw it over the back-rest of the chair, then dumped into the bed in the room. It was too comfortable and he was too tired to feel like pulling the pants off a well. Besides, if she actually did go in here for some reason, she would not be able to handle the embarrassment a second time. It was impressive enough that she did the first. That would be the reason if anyone asked.

The sword - his zanpakuto apparently - was left right beside the bed though. That shit wasn't comfortable sleeping with. Finally, he made himself comfortable in the covers, closing his eyes as he let sleep take over.

Except it didn't.

He was tired and yet he couldn't fucking sleep. What the hell was this shit? When you're fucking tired, you fall the fuck asleep. So why wasn't he?

No matter how much he wracked his brain, trying to figure it out, nothing really seemed like the right thing. It wasn't because he had a roof over his head, because usually they'd slept in caves whenever they could without any problems. It wasn't that the bed was either too soft or too hard, 'cause the caves' floors were usually hard unless they'd slept in ones which were flooded with sand, then it'd be soft. And they'd never had any problems there either. Maybe it was because they weren't outside now as they'd used to be, but he really doubted that was actually the problem here.

His head was spinning around in circles, only finding one things which might be the cause, but was unlikely to be. It felt like hours had passed with him just lying there, thinking, trying to sleep, while it had probably only been about a half.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a soft knock at the door and felt Lucy's reiatsu on the other side. "What is it?" He asked out loud, it being the only invitation for her to come inside.

Moments later, he saw her blonde, little head peeking in through the crack of the door. "Can I come in?" She asked him almost timidly. He sat up, nodded and watched as she closed the door behind her. "I was having some trouble falling asleep, so I was thinking I could join you in here?" She asked, gesturing to the floor. "I'll just be-"

She was cut off when he moved over in the bed and patted the empty spot. Seeing her look, he sighed. "It's fine, I don't mind. Unless you really want to sleep on the floor - then I won't stop you." He reassured her.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Grim." She said and approached, putting her whip down on the floor next to his sword. The bed wasn't big per se, but it wasn't small either, so they'd both fit in it just fine, even if they both were on their backs.

She slowly, almost carefully, lay down next to him. It was unavoidable that their shoulders touched, but it wasn't like this was new to them. They'd done this all the time out there. The only difference was that she also had a human form now and that was all. Nothing had changed.

He glanced over at her in the dark, somehow feeling her gaze on him. "Again, goodnight, Grim." She said as their eyes met.

"Yeah, goodnight." He mumbled back, watching her closer her eyes first, before doing it himself, only for sleep to take over almost immediately.

* * *

 **Aww~ All he needed was just her there beside him. Cute, eh?**

 **And I'm not sure whether I've mentioned this before or clearly enough, but if you come here expecting lemons, you'll sadly be disappointed. There'll be none of that. The m-rating is mostly for the coarse language, the violence and, well, perhaps for future mention of sexual content. But not lemons. So.. Sorry if you were expecting that.**

 **So yup, they became Arrancar.  
And I know that some of you might be pissed I decided not to make Lucy an Espada. Well, I got a good reason. Remember how she mixes magic with reiatsu? Yeah, well, their rankings here are based purely on their reiatsu, so her magic doesn't count. Besides, she's nothing "special" as such as of yet. But this is a trump-card of hers though :3**

 **Oh, and it came to my attention I forgot to mention something about Grimmjow becoming a Vasto. It is hinted in cannon that it was very likely that he and a few others were Vasto Lordes (Ulquiorra, for example) before becoming Espada, but it wasn't shown. So yeah. There's that.**

 **Ah, and sorry if Aizen seemed a little out of character, I'm working to get into his character. But I'll get it down soon enough.**

 **So yeah. Thanks as always for your support - reading, favoriting, following and commenting! Keep it up!**

 **~Line464d**


	9. Chapter 9 - Reunions

**Chapter 9 - Reunions**

 **You're all so lewd, jeez. Why's that the first you have to comment on when I go and make a connection to her Spirits through the number 69 on her hand? XD  
God. Well, but you're right, I guess it's also that.  
I made a mistake last chapter, actually. It's not Pisces' sign, it's Cancer's. I swear, Cancer is generally just unlucky - not only is its name a pretty horrifying disease, it also has that sign. But what can you do?  
Oh, and fun fact: The 1** **st** **Espada, Stark, also has his number on his left hand.**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Give praise to our holy lords, Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima, they're our true saviors..!**

* * *

Lucy quickly jumped back, feeling the wind of the blade swinging down right in front of her. Had she been just a little bit slower about that, she'd have been sliced in half.

 _She'd tried this before… She knew this scenario. It was so deeply rooted in her. Of course it was - this was the way she died after all._

Before she even had her balance back from the jump, she threw her hand forward, twisting her arm to make the whip fly out. It flashed forward and soon wrapped around her opponent's thin sword and arm.

 _Gin. The opponent before her was Gin. The one who killed her and now would again._

Judging by the pitying look she was rewarded from the eyes which seemed to always be closed and smiling, it was clear he didn't doubt his victory in this battle. Alas, he tilted his wrist up and, with a forceful pull, cut straight through the magical weapon.

 _She remembered all this so vividly. Every detail. She knew exactly what was going to happen and how this all ended._

Damn it! This guy was leagues above her in terms of fighting-strength and experience. She stood no chance!

 _It didn't really feel like she was reliving this.. It was more like she was watching it all through her own eyes._

Nonetheless, she quickly drew out a pair of golden keys. She looked at her opponent with a grim but determined look. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Gate of the Lion!" She chanted, seeing some confusion in her opponent's expression. "Taurus! Leo!" She almost screamed. She might not be able to beat this guy, but she could at least hold him back until the others arrived.

 _No matter how much she tried, she couldn't change what she did. She was stuck in a cage, forced to watch her life crumble all over again._

Immediately as her two Spirits appeared, they jumped right into action. Taurus charged straight forward with his axe held above his head. He swung it down as soon as the enemy was within range. The giant axe was soon blocked by a thin blade.

 _Oh, Taurus, Loke. Her heart ached both at the sight of them after so, so long, but also at the knowledge of what was soon to happen._

Meanwhile, Loke crept up from the back, his fist already pulsing with magic. When the enemy noticed his approach, it already seemed too late. "Regulus-" Loke began, but was cut off.

 _She couldn't help wondering... Did they miss her as much as she missed them?_

"Bakudō Four." The enemy calmly stated, yet with some power in his voice, as he pointed his free fingertips towards the Lion Spirit. He didn't turn to watch the cackling yellow magic wrap around Loke tightly like vines. Instead, he easily deflected Taurus' axe and angled his blade to cut the Spirit's arm off. That was enough to send the Bull back to the Celestial Realm with a pained cry.

 _Would she ever see them again? Or was this the last time she would see her family and friends?_

Lucy gasped in both surprise and fright. This man took out Taurus so easily, what wouldn't he do to Loke, who was restrained by his strange magic?

 _No… Please… It was too much for her to bear watching this again._

She wanted to move forward to stop this man from hurting her friend and Spirit - she really did. But she found herself completely frozen in place as he turned around to face her Lion Spirit.

 _No… Not again. She didn't want to relive this again. It was too hard. She'd just forgotten about it.._

"I'm really sorry about this." He said with a low voice as he readied his sword in both of his hands.

 _It was too difficult to watch.. She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't. She was forced to do this again._

Time seemed to freeze as Loke looked over at her with such a sad, apologetic expression. She could feel something break in her at the thought of Loke getting impaled by that sword. She wouldn't let it happen!

 _Worst part about this… Was she faced with the same situation once more, she knew she wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing all over again._

Time snapped back and then sped up impossibly much. She hadn't even realized what had happened, before she was looking into a set of surprised eyes.

But they weren't teal, as she had expected them to be. The man who had impaled her now wasn't even Gin. His wide, brown eyes, covered by a pair of glasses, looked at her. And the soft, brown curls framed his face worriedly.

 _Who was this man?_

* * *

Lucy woke up with a jolt, whipping up almost reflexively. She was breathing heavily and her mind was spinning around uncontrollably. It was a dream. She'd dreamt of that day. It had been so terrifying accurate and real, she could almost still feel the blade in her chest.

Except that guy.. With the brown eyes and curly hair. Simultaneously, he felt both completely foreign and familiar somehow. She felt she had seen him somewhere before, but she didn't have the faintest idea where. Neither did she the reason he even popped up in her dream in the first place.

She felt something move next to her. "Kitten? What're you doing?" Grimmjow asked her drowsily, slurring his words a little as he seemed to stretch next to her.

Right… She'd forgotten she'd gone in here last night because she couldn't sleep and then this predicament had happened. And now she had woken him up. "Oh, nothing. I'm sorry for waking you up, Grim." She apologized, not looking back at him. She had a feeling that looking at him right now wouldn't be a good idea.

"You know…" He trailed off as he sat up as well, though he could still only see her neck. "Something that has you waking up like that is definitely not 'nothing'." He reminded her.

She sighed, feeling the waterworks already setting into motion, as it always did when you talked with others about something like this. "It's nothing. Really." She tried to convince him, but her voice was too high-pitched to convince anyone of anything.

But she didn't want to cry in front of him. She hadn't done that ever before in the long time they'd been together now and she didn't feel it was necessary to have a first time for it. She was much stronger than she'd ever been and you never saw strong people running around crying.

He grunted in irritation - at her stubbornness, no doubt. She had an inkling she'd lost this battle already. "Turn around and say that to my face, then." He said, knowing as well as she did that he'd have his answer no matter what she did. And she couldn't. Instead, she pulled her legs up and locked her arms around them, burying her head in her knees, remaining silent. "I'm already awake now. So you might as well tell me whatever's going on." He told her.

At times he could be as stubborn as her. If not even more. Now was one of those times.

She inhaled deeply, trying to force her tears back and to calm herself down at the same time. She had no success with either. "I..I had a dream." She told him with a tiny voice.

"A dream?" He repeated, both curious and confused, as if the idea of that happening was completely foreign to him.

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Yes." She said, then paused. "Well, probably more of a nightmare, I guess." She clarified, tipping her head up to rest her chin on her knees instead. When Grimmjow remained silent, waiting for her to continue, she did. "It.. I dreamed of how I was killed… It was like I was stuck in my own body. I could only watch as everything happened all over again." She tightened her grip around her legs and clenched her teeth, once again fighting a losing battle against her tears. Goddammit, she was stronger than this..! "At first, I was fighting Gin. It was all as I remember. But as soon as he'd impaled me, it was no longer Gin. It was someone I can't remember having seen before. A guy with brown eyes and hair and a pair of glasses." She said, though she doubted the explanation would spark any form of recognition in Grimmjow.

"Hm…" Grimmjow simply grunted while he seemingly thought about what she said. "Can't say I know what the hell that's supposed to mean." She felt his gaze burning a hole in the back of her head. "But experiencing all that again isn't what's the real problem here, is it?" He asked, though they both knew the answer to that.

If it wasn't because of the given situation, she would have been annoyed he could read her so easily. "No, it isn't…" She confirmed.

And apparently it didn't take a genius to figure out what it really was either. "Let me guess… You saw some of your previous friends from back then?" He asked her. She really needed to work on being so readable.

Of course, his saying it out loud made the dam break. "Will I ever see them again, Grim?" She sobbed out, having finally accepted defeat against her tears. She didn't really expect an answer, so she didn't wait for it. "Sorry. I just.. Miss them a lot." She excused herself and quickly wiped her eyes. She wasn't being fair.

It was a weird question to ask him anyway - and inappropriate to boot. She'd gotten him and the other five. They were her friends now. Even if she couldn't see everyone back there again, she would still have them. And they were all she had right now.

Grim sighed in something akin to irritation. "Don't apologize for that shit, Kitten. I don't know how all that is, but by now it'd be fair enough to say I know you. And you care about everyone and everything. And you worry too much too." He said, getting a very unattractive snort out of her. Couldn't argue with him on that. "You were a friendship-is-magic type of person, and you went through a hell of a lot with all those other people, so obviously you'd miss them."

His words only made it all the harder for her not to break out bawling like a little kid. She'd formed some kind of friendship with Grimmjow, sure, but she hadn't expected him to say things like this… It made her happy though.

Her intensified sobbing and sniffing seemed to make the wrong impression on him. "Look. If you need to cry about whatever, then do it." He said with slight irritation, which was not aimed at her entirely. "You've never done it while I've known you and honestly, you seem like you'd cry if you see a puppy dying, so you gotta have a lot of it bottled up in there, right?" He asked a little more softly.

She peeked up at him from her knees. "Really?" She asked, her voice hardly even her own any longer. She got a single nod from him, and that was all her tears needed to burst forward. "Thank you, Grim." She muttered as she let herself lean into him, her head on his shoulder, letting the very last of her defenses fall.

A little awkwardly, she felt him sneak an arm around her waist for comfort. For a while, they just sat there, with her crying her eyes out. "Oh, and by the way." He suddenly said, the rumbling sound of his voice being the only thing to break the complete silence between them. "I don't doubt you'll see those guys again someday." He told her.

She looked up at him, seeing the look on his face. It was sort of grim, but also amused. She hoped the look in her own eyes was enough to convey what she was feeling, because she didn't trust her voice enough to attempt talking.

True enough, he continued with no further urging necessary. "That asshole who killed you made it to your world somehow, so we can do it too. We just need to figure out how." He reassured her.

She smiled and nodded. Yeah, he was right. They'd figure it out one way or another.

* * *

The two walked down the hall leading to their wing. Ahead of them was a group of five Arrancar. They looked strange. So it could only really be the people they were looking for.

And right then, the first of them noticed their approach. A lanky guy with long, blonde hair and what remained of his mask right at the top of his head like some helmet. For a moment, he was just frozen on the spot over there, staring at them. Then, suddenly, he quite literally squealed and charged at them.

Yylfordt. Definitely.

Before they even had the chance to brace for impact, he'd already crashed into the both of them, pulling them into a forceful group-hug. "Oh sweeties! It's so wonderful to see you!" He said - more like screamed - and then pulled back a little. "How have you been? What kind of awesome stories can you tell us?" He asked, but before they could even reply, he'd already rushed ahead. "And just look at you!" He squealed once again, turning to Grimmjow, who wasn't quite sure what was coming up. Especially because his crimson eyes were shining in an uncomfortable way. "You look so hot! I could eat you all up…!"

That. That was really disgusting coming from another guy. Even if Yylfordt was basically more woman than man in every aspect but biology. He was still another dude. Which was why Grimmjow couldn't even muster up the strength to answer him. He felt violated.

Not that it mattered though, because the guy had already turned to the blonde instead. "And you.. God, girl, you're drop-dead GORGEOUS! Those curls are every girl's dream! And those ears! They're literally too adorable! And you're perfectly tiny, yet with such amazing curves!" He went on ranting, though Grimmjow could barely even hear it through his disgust. "You're absolutely beautiful." He shrieked way too loudly.

Lucy giggled sweetly. "You're also quite handsome yourself, Yylfordt." She replied, probably feeling rude if she didn't say something similar. Or maybe she actually meant it. Who knows?

Yylfordt was probably going to go on another rant, when one of the others fortunately decided to cut in. "Yeah, how about you let the rest of us say 'hi' before ranting, eh?" Di Roy suggested. No matter whether he was a giant snake of a tiny Arrancar, that attitude and the voice were recognizable.

"Oh! Di Roy! Look! Someone lower than you!" Yyfordt laughed as he stepped aside, silently agreeing to the suggestion.

"Shut up, Yylfordt." Di Roy growled as he stepped forward to greet the two of them. And true enough, he wasn't tall. To make up for it though, he'd kept the hammerhead he'd already had as the remaining parts of his mask, which covered most of the top of his head. Short, blonde hair poked out under the mask and hid one of his eyes from view. He was grinning at them, sharp, pointed teeth peeking out under his lips. "Well, Yylfordt, I can agree on one of the two, but not the other one. He honestly looks like pure shit." He said and grinned cheekily at Grimmjow.

Meanwhile, the 'pure shit' in question could only glare at the tiny-as-an-ant Arrancar in front of him. "It's such a damn pleasure to see you too, you little shit." He shot back.

This only had the 'little shit' in question laughing like it was the first time in a century he'd done it. "It's nice to see none of you died yet." He then admitted.

"'Yet'?" Lucy asked, confused as always. All she got was a grin from the guy.

"Well, when we heard of your battle against Ulquiorra, naturally we were worried. But it seems there truly was no reason for us to." The person who undoubtedly was Shawlong commented.

The remainders of the mask also matched, covering the top of his head completely and with a spike outwards as well as a visor-like part covering one of his eyes. His black hair was braided behind his back and strongly resembled the tube he'd had as Adjuchas. He was also still tall and skinny.

"Our battle with Ulquiorra? Who told you about that?" Lucy asked curiously. Grimmjow was just as curious. How the hell did that reach their ears?

"Ulquiorra himself, of course." Shawlong said, probably realizing what kind of impact that'd have. "I'm glad to see you both still alive and well." He said, looking to her specifically.

Grimmjow growled under her breath at the implications behind that. "That damn bat just managed to escape during our battle. I'll get him next time." He promised. To hell if he'd let these guys know he'd let the bat go.

A big guy, with long, red hair swept to one side, tanned skin and the remainder of his mask over his nose like some strange pair of glasses, laughed. "Not exactly the same story Ulquiorra told us, but sure." Edard replied almost teasingly.

Damn them all.

Especially that Nakeem fucker in the back, who was just standing there, half his fat face covered by his mask and judging all of them.

"I suggest we all go out hunting together for old times' sake. What do you think?" Di Roy said with a grin.

Grimmjow looked at the squirt with a smirk. "Now, that's an idea I can back up, Squirt." He said, already too aware of the complex the guy had with his height.

Shawlong nodded as well. "That sounds like a good idea. Afterwards, we should go get us all appointed as the sexta Espada's Fracción." He said.

"Ah." Lucy said, having remembered something. "I forgot, I have something I need to talk with Aizen about real quick. I'm sorry, but just go ahead, I'll catch up to all of you. And while I'm at it, I'll go and get you all appointed as well." She apologized.

For a moment, he wondered what she had to do with that guy, but then he figured it out. She was probably going to get the coat back to that Shinigami. She most likely just wanted to do it while she still remembered.

He nodded. "All right, but make it quick, Kitten." She nodded and left with a wave and a quick goodbye, heading back to their rooms to get it. He turned to the others. "Well, let's go." He said and the six disappeared out the building and into the familiar desert.

* * *

She walked down the long hall from where she could faintly feel Aizen's reiatsu. With him seemed to be the other two Shinigami and two Arrancar she naturally didn't recognize. Probably guards. She'd just have to get this done quickly so that she could catch up to the others. Both because she actually found some enjoyment from hunting and because that'd mean less time she'd have to be around Gin. And she'd missed them all and doing things like that too.

As she approached, she saw a pair of girls standing right outside the doors which undoubtedly led to wherever the Shinigami were. One had short, brownish-blonde hair and the other long, black pigtails. None of them looked friendly in the least and were already glaring at her. Threatened by her more… Adult build, no doubt.

Shaking their attitudes off, she smiled. "Sorry, but is it possible for me to have a quick word with Aizen?" She politely asked them, pretending not to notice how the blonde's hand was resting on the sword by her hip.

The pigtailed one crossed her arms and sent Lucy a leveling look. "That's Aizen- _sama_ to you." She sneered, her high-pitched voice revealing she was nothing more than a young teenager. "And no, you can't. Aizen-sama is busy right now." She told her pointedly.

Lucy raised a brow. She could recognize that tone of voice anywhere. It seemed these two girls were Aizen's very own fangirls - if the blonde's quick nod and angry gaze was anything to judge by. Well, it wasn't so strange. Aizen was a very charismatic, intelligent and handsome person. And by letting them be his personal guards, he also let them think they were special to him somehow. Easy way to get loyal followers.

Smirking internally, she crossed her arms under her breasts, knowing it'd push them up in what would look like a challenging way, all the while keeping the coat close to her body. "Oh? That's a shame." She said with a pout and sighed. "Oh well. I'll just have to keep his coat for myself a little longer, then." She said in an obviously fake disappointed tone as she turned around to walk away.

"Wait!" The black haired one called out to her almost desperately.

Lucy turned around to look at her innocently. "Yes?"

The black haired one stomped forward, standing almost nose-to-nose with Lucy. "Where the hell did you get that coat from?" She almost screeched demandingly.

"She probably stole it." The blonde one piped in.

Lucy found the urge to roll her eyes. They were too easy. "No, nothing of the sort." She reassured them, once again adjusting her posture to show off. Why else have these curves if not to use them? "He lent it to me yesterday, I just wanted to return it. But if he's busy, I'll just keep it till tomorrow." She said with a shrug.

The pissed look on the pigtailed one's face only got worse as she growled. "No. Go in and give it back, but be quick about it." She sneered.

Lucy couldn't keep down the smirk any longer. "Why, thank you." She said. Fangirls, especially ones this young, were so incredibly easy to manipulate, it wasn't even funny. Or maybe it was. Either way, Aizen-'sama' should probably consider looking into some new guards.

With that, the blonde opened the door for her with clear disdain, then looked towards the Shinigami - who seemed to have stopped mid-sentence from the interference. "I apologize for the interruption, but Aizen-sama, you have a visitor." She told him apologetically, her voice falling in volume with each word.

"Send them in." He said, to which the blonde nodded and gestured for Lucy to hurry up. She stepped in quickly and heard the door close behind her. "Oh, Lucy, was it? What can I help you with?" Aizen asked as he got up from where he'd been sitting, only barely covering his surprise and irritation.

Well, whatever. She couldn't help playing with the two out there. "I'm sorry for the interruption, I just came to return this." She said and held the white coat she'd borrowed out to him.

"Oh, thanks…" He said slowly, probably not all too sure what to make of the situation. She'd just barged in only to give him that after all.

Before the situation got too awkward and Tosen would kill her for interrupting them in the middle of something important - because he looked about ready to do that - she spoke up again. "And then I came to tell you that Grimmjow acquired five new Fracción just a moment ago." She said. At least that was a better reason for her to be here right now.

This seemed to perk Gin - who she'd tried really hard to ignore - up. "The five fellas from before, eh?" He asked. She nodded as his only reply. "I knew they were yer friends."

She nodded a little again. Pretty much, yeah. Even if Grimmjow wasn't fond of admitting it. "Well.. That's all I really wanted to say…" She said and was about to turn around and leave, when she was stopped mid-step.

"Before you leave, I wasn't your opinion on something." He said, gesturing for her to follow him as he sat down where he had before.

Tosen frowned. "Aizen, are you sure you want to do this? She is just a Números." He reminded the other Shinigami. Números? Probably just the word they used for anyone who wasn't Espada.

Lucy hadn't stepped closer, but simply watched them, waiting for them to give her permission to leave. Not that her curiosity wasn't killing her right now, it was, but.. Well, she didn't really feel all that welcome.

Aizen nodded. "I don't see what it could hurt. A new perspective might help us." He reasoned. "Besides, she just tricked her way past those two out there."

Gin snorted. "That, an' Grimmjow'll tell 'er everythin' anyway. Ain't I right?" He asked, looking to her for confirmation.

She had a feeling what they'd been discussing was the next actions they should take. "Well.." She said, not declining the idea. "He's not exactly the most tactically inclined person.." She confirmed.

It seemed that was enough answer for Gin. "So basically he'll be tellin' 'er everythin' after every meetin' anyway." He basically repeated.

Tosen shrugged reluctantly. "Fine. If you believe she will be of any help, go ahead." He said, clearly not sharing the same opinion.

This time, Lucy slowly approached when Aizen gestured for her to. "As I am sure you have already surmised from this, we are debating what out next move will be." He told her calmly as she approached. "You see, now we have the Espada gathered, we believe it is about time something bigger is set into motion." He told her, looking up at her expectantly waiting for her to share her thoughts on the matter.

She took a short moment to think it through, before answering. "You recruited me yesterday… And I'm supposed to be the 69th Arrancar in this army, right?" She asked, getting a curt nod. "So basically that means you only have around 70 Arrancar as of now, right?" She asked.

"Well, we've a few others hidin' in the corners, so probably more like 80, but yeah." Gin corrected her.

Didn't change her point though. "I don't believe you should do anything drastic at this point. You don't have a lot of Arrancar to work with, so it'll be a bit of a problem if you lose too many." She reasoned with them. Especially because of the morale they most definitely had about the army - anything below Espada was expendable - they'd lose some in the bigger operations. And they couldn't afford doing that too much.

Aizen leaned back in his seat as he looked at her scrutinizingly. "While it may be true that we do not have as many members as the Soul Society, the power of the individual members exceeds that of theirs." He argued.

"They can overpower with numbers - go three on one. Then ours may be stronger, but their attention will be split and they'll have to be aware of the three people at once. No matter the power of the person, that's a tough task. And you might not be able to just blast everything away, because the operation requires delicacy or because another ally is fighting 10 meters away from you." She shot back. She'd seen this dilemma enough times already on missions back with her old team. It was exactly that her magic usually relied on, after all.

Gin hummed under his breath. He'd probably experienced something like this as well, having fought for the Soul Society and all that before. Against stronger opponents than what she had been… She had no doubts a place like that faced strong adversaries regularly. "Girl's got a point, ya know."

Though she disliked him strongly, she never disliked acknowledgment of being right. "Besides, since you all announced that you left back then, and probably also that you would create a war-" She got a nod in confirmation, urging her to continue. "I really doubt they're sitting over there with their thumbs up their asses." She told them. No one in their right mind would do that.

Tosen nodded slowly, though not without a scrunched up face. "While it isn't the words I would have chosen, I believe that to be the truth as well. They are undoubtedly in the midst of preparations and training this very moment." He agreed.

Aizen nodded as well. "Indeed. But we were already aware of that. They always do this when facing a crisis or a threat of a certain magnitude." He said, making a brushing motion with his hand.

She was pretty sure the threat of some of their strongest deserting and joining the otherwise un-mobilized archenemy and then mobilizing _and_ powering them up was a threat of the highest order.

Which meant they were likely training even harder than ever before. "Have you prepared for the chance that they may grow much more than you might expect?" She asked them. "Or how about those who grow in battle?" She continued. She couldn't even count how many she knew who did this. She knew Grimmjow was of that sort. Though only against those who were of equal strength to him or higher.

"Those who grow in battle." Tosen repeated to himself lowly. "I suppose that would be types like Kenpachi Zaraki." He said to the other two, as she'd never even heard the name before. Some Shinigami they all knew, in all likelihood.

"Nah. I think ya should look more towards the young ones like the Kuchikis, that Renji-fella an' those with a lotta passion all over the place." Gin said, spewing even more names she didn't recognize. But as long as it made sense to them, then that was fine. "An' that Ichigo Kurosaki really does sound like the type as well." He added.

Aizen sighed in defeat. "Yes, it would not surprise me if he is that kind of pestilence." He said, clearly already irritated just by the thought of it. And just as irritated as she was beginning to feel for being left out of this conversation when he turned to her. "Ichigo Kurosaki is another one of our worries." He told her. Which explained nothing.

Tosen picked up where Aizen left off. "He is a human - a living one, that is - who has an immense amount of reiryoku. Way beyond what is normal for a living person to have. I have never even as much as heard of anything like it in my hundreds of years in the Soul Society." He said.

A human with an immense amount of reiryoku? She'd heard from Grimmjow there were a few who could manipulate the reishi inn the living world and their own reiryoku but only ever to a certain, smaller degree. His sounded to be way above that.

"Exactly how strong is this human, Ichigo Kurosaki?" She asked curiously, but also a little worried. If Grimmjow caught wind of this.. He'd want to test himself against this person.

"Strong enough to force his way past several captains and lieutenants to save his Shinigami 'friend' from being executed for treason." Aizen replied.

She sighed deeply, gently massaging the bridge of her nose. The worst type of enemy - she should know. "The friendship-is-magic type…" She muttered to herself. "You should watch out for him." She warned them.

"Well. When he says 'force his way past', what Aizen really means's dukin' it out with only two cap'ns an' a few lieutenants. The rest he avoided. An' it was all going accordin' ta plan." Gin clarified amusedly. "In the end, Aizen struck him down with no real trouble."

Well, that's an entirely different story. Raising a brow at the Shinigami questioningly, all she got back was a light shrug. "Well, while that may be true, he'll probably only get stronger from now on… Especially if his friends are somehow threatened." She muttered, finding herself thinking about Natsu instead of Ichigo. Hopefully, the two of them weren't identical. If they were, she doubted they could even win. Natsu would always pull through, no matter what odds were against him..

But maybe if they could somehow avoid getting Ichigo involved at all.

Just as she was about to ask if that would be a possibility, Gin cut in an answered her unasked question. "An' there's no doubt they'll call 'im in, 'cause he's as strong as a cap'n. They're not that stupid." He said.

Of course… So there really was no way to avoid him. Then… "How about just taking him out of the equation all together?" She asked. Surely, they'd thought of that. Getting rid of him.

Tosen sighed. "We have considered that. However we fear it'll only have them attacking us even sooner. As you said, we are not quite enough to protect ourselves from the Shinigami as it is now." He explained.

She frowned in both irritation and worry. Someone like that just had to be that troublesome, didn't they? "Well, then I suggest we test his current strength. That way it should be possible for us to predict how much he'll be able to grow in strength." She said slowly. There was a limit to how strong he could get in the time given to him. "Though I still think you should wait till we have more Arrancars around. Eighty is hardly an army." She added.

Gin tilted his head, the creepy smile of his now even creepier. "So what ya suggest is that we go search for more fire-power now, then go an' test the mortal's strength an' then see what happens?" He asked for clarification, though it did sound a lot like he was mocking her.

She crossed her arms under her chest and dared a light glare at him. "Yes, Gin, that's what I suggest." She told him directly. "In the meantime, you make all the other, smaller preparations as well, of course."

"Like…?" Gin urged her on, looking amused for some reason.

"Like making sure everyone in your army will actually listen to you and follow you." She said. When they all looked at her questioningly, she wanted to bang her head into the wall. "You all do realize that several of your Espada are way stronger than you are right now, don't you?" She asked, hoping this was not a surprise to them.

Aizen nodded slowly, warily watching her with narrowed eyes. "We are aware of this… What is your point?" He asked suspiciously.

"In a place like this, you should know it's impossible to be the ruler, if you don't have the power to back it up." She said, both hands resting on her hips sternly. "Someone is going to plan to overthrow you soon, if they know for sure they can do it. Not everyone is as loyal as your two fangirls out there." She said almost angrily. This was supposed to be obvious.

Aizen made a sound which to her sounded like a growl in irritation. "Right. We have something in mind for that as well." He said, clearly not liking the current topic.

Leaving it be, she moved on. "It might also be a good idea to make sure all the Arrancar you've got running around in this place have something to do. That'll keep them occupied." She said, continuing quickly. "You mentioned something about some different squads or something with different tasks yesterday." She told Aizen.

He nodded as he remembered, seemingly glad for the change of topic. "Ah yeah, with the protection of Las Noches and such?" He asked for clarification.

She nodded. "Exactly. How about actually getting that into motion?" She asked, not even letting them answer before making suggestions. "For example you could have some Arrancar be in charge of patrolling around Las Noches and protecting it, like the two out there. You also mentioned something about having some Hollows lying around in case regeneration needs speeding up. Well, have someone go out hunting for it and making sure there's always something fresh lying around - I know Grim, for one, would do that with pleasure. On the other hand, someone like Harribel isn't fit for it. She may be better suited taking care of patrolling or potentially injured, if we get any of that." She paused for a moment as another idea popped up in her head. "Which… We might get through training." She said thoughtfully.

"Training?" Tosen asked, as if he'd never heard of it before.

She nodded. "Yeah. Since we're Arrancar now, we should get stronger through training as well - like you guys." She said thoughtfully. "You all were captains back there, right?" She asked, just to sort of change the topic. She was almost certain they were, but it didn't hurt anyone to have it confirmed.

"Yes.. We were." Tosen confirmed, almost looking like she had discovered a secret of his. She hoped not, because it was incredibly easy to figure out.

She smiled a little. "Great. Then you all should know at least a little about the biggest threats from the Soul Society, right? Find out which of our strongest match up well against theirs and teach them about their opponents. Strengths and weaknesses. Habits. Personality. Anything which could be of importance." She ended off, a determined look on her face. "Just because we're stronger doesn't mean we should just sit down and do nothing. We might as well take all the advantages we can get."

A smile grew on Aizen's face. "Well then, Tosen. Do you regret inviting her in, still?" He asked, his gaze not leaving her even as he spoke.

Tosen shook his head somewhat gently. "No. I only wonder what someone like that is doing with someone like the sexta Espada." He spoke his thoughts out loud.

She laughed. Were they such a strange pair? "That's a long story for another time, I think." She said with a little, lopsided smile. "Either way, I hope I could help you any." She said, remembering the others should probably be waiting for her somewhere out there right about now. She'd also spent a lot of time in here already.

"Of course. Greatly." Aizen replied. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, he spoke again. "And I hope we might borrow you again in the future." He then added.

"Huh?" She asked unintelligently and surprised. "Borrow me?"

"Indeed. You have a different perspective on things than we do, it appears. We could use that. So what do you think?" He asked, while she just stared at him, flabbergasted.

"Ya know." Gin said, taking the word. "Wouldn't it just be easier ta make her some sorta pseudo-Espada or somethin' like that?" He asked, to which Aizen nodded.

Returning a coat turned into something entirely different it seemed… Well, but this might just be something she could turn to her advantage though. She'd have a chance to get a little closer to Gin and figure him out - as far as it was possible anyway. That and it seemed they were all really listening to what she had to say, so… If she could make it sound convincing enough, it should be possible to rake in a few things for herself and the others. Besides, if that wasn't possible, she would get closer to these three inevitably. It had to have its perks.

The decision was easy. "Of course! If you'll have me, I'll gladly help." She said, trying not to sound as eager as she was.

He smiled. "Excellent. We'll have this announced at the next meeting."

* * *

Honestly, Grimmjow wasn't sure if he believed her story when he heard it back at his wing with the others. Who had that kind of luck, which would make a delivery into a damn promotion just like that?

But so far, she was still following him towards the Espada meeting-room without any signs of it having been a lie. The kind of advantages it'd give to have someone in the inner circle like that were pretty awesome.

If anyone, she was probably the only one he knew, who might be able to get away with something like this.

But still… They hadn't reached a point where they could trust any of them yet… And if she got caught in trying to manipulate them, then that would have some serious consequences as well. It wasn't without danger for her to be there, and he wasn't sure he liked that. Especially if Gin supposedly was the one who'd killed her.

Either way, as they approached the door ahead, they found the two usual, girly guards standing in front of it, glaring furiously at Lucy right next to him. Well, that was one proof of her story being true..

But then again, they could just feel threatened or actually be doing their jobs.

"Sorry. No Números allowed." The pigtailed one mocked her childishly. Even though she was also a Números. Great job, girly.

"Oh? Really now?" Lucy replied in feigned innocence. "I was pretty sure I had to go in there though." She said, putting a finger to her chin in a thinking pose.

The blonde-ish one of the two crossed her arms sternly. "What did you steal from Aizen-sama this time?"

Honestly, this was kind of entertaining.

Lucy smiled at them. "Nothing, nothing. I just.. Ah, well, you see, I'm not simply a Números anymore." She said, clearly having her own fun with this as well.

"No, you're nothing more than a Números. Now leave." The pigtailed one hissed at her angrily. That was until she noticed someone else's approach. "Oh, Gin."

Seconds later, Lucy tensed up as said Shinigami placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ah, Loly, Menoly. Sorry we didn't tell ya 'bout this, but Luce here's to be considered an Espada o' sorts from now on, 'kay?" He said with his usual, unnerving smile.

The two gaped speechlessly and opened the doors with a pair nods. Gin went on in as he thanked the two. Lucy shook the close contact with Gin off quickly, blew a kiss by hand to the pigtailed one before sauntering exaggeratedly after the Shinigami. With a shake of his head, Grimmjow followed along, appearing in the room he'd only been in once before.

In the middle was a long stone-table with 10 chairs around it. At the far end and raised above the other chairs were another three - the Shinigamis'. The other 10 were the Espada's

He went ahead to his seat. He saw from the corner of his eyes how Lucy's eyes travelled over the already present members - which was almost everyone. Only one missing was the only person besides him, who made a point of being late. Coyote Stark, the primera Espada.

He noticed her discretely waving to Harribel and actually nodding to Ulquiorra. He'd have to talk to her about loyalty.

She then made herself comfortable standing behind his chair, seeing as there were no extra chairs around. He tipped his head back. "You do realize we go with 'survival of the fittest' in here too, right?" He asked, nodding to the only vacant seat left.

She frowned. "Surviving is knowing when to and when not to test your limits as well." She shot back in a low voice, trying and failing miserably not to draw attention to herself.

Right as the words left her mouth, Stark entered, took his seat and slouched lazily in it.

His arrival had Aizen standing up and drawing everyone's attention away from the unfamiliar blonde. "Once again, thank you all for showing up at such a short notice." He said. "As you have surely already noticed, we have a new face in our midst." He said, turning all eyes in this room to the blonde behind Grimmjow. "Please do welcome Lucy Heartfilia, our only pseudo-Espada." He said, to which a spread mumble appeared from the other nine. None of them seemed thoroughly impressed, though that was to be expected.

Lucy stepped away from the chair and bowed lightly to them all. "I'm looking forward to working with you." Was her only greeting.

The first one to ask the inevitable question was the mad scientist of the bunch - Szayelaporro Granz. Yylfordt's narcissistic younger brother, apparently. "Uhm.. Excuse me for asking, but _why_ do we need her, exactly?" He asked, looking almost offended from her being here.

Honestly, it would just be better if he took his smart-ass glasses, girly, pink hair and the cocky attitude and just let Lucy take the seat as the octava Espada. Would make it much easier to go through these meeting as she - unlike him - would have asked her billions of questions beforehand.

Aizen smiled, having obviously expected the question from that guy. "For her tactical and analytical skills. As a matter of fact, she has suggested some of the changes we will be discussing today." He explained, effectively shutting up the now even more offended guy, who'd of course thought himself to be the superior intellectual in this place.

And that was the start of an insanely boring meeting.

* * *

 **Welp. So that's done.**

 **Wouldn't say this is my best at all. It lacked the sort of flow I usually have in the others, so.. I'm sorry for that.**

 **That being said, some relevant things happened though.  
First of all, we had those 5 step back into the picture again, now as Fracción of Grimmjow. So that's nice. And will often make for more of a comedic break in the story. The make-shift Fairy Tail in Hueco Mundo, basically.  
Second of all, we have Lucy's lil' promotion to pseudo-Espada. As should be obvious just from this, it'll also have its meaning in the future chapters. So, while she's not really a **_**true**_ **Espada, she's as close as possible.**

 **And, of course, we have the dream. And the following adorable moment. In which Grimmjow shows an entirely different side of himself. Aaaaand who was the mystery guy in her dream anyway?**

 **Well, so that's all I got for now. Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and of course commenting! It really helps with the motivation!**

 **~Line464d**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Beginning

**Chapter 10 - The Beginning**

 **I'm so sorry for this getting late out! I was busy today and came home really late, so that's why it came out late _"**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Fairy Tail - as if that'd surprise anyone. **

* * *

"Damnit..! This is so goddamn _boring_! There's not a single, fucking thing to do in this shit-hole of a palace." Grimmjow growled angrily. He was literally slouching more in the couch over there than Stark would during the meetings - and that honestly said a lot, Lucy'd found.

Even though several days had passed since that first meeting of hers, not much had changed for any of them. As of yet, the ideas she had presented to the Shinigami, and that they had presented to the Espada, hadn't been implemented yet. Despite the fact that the others mostly seemed to agree with the idea. Instead, they'd focused on gathering more Arrancar to play around with. But seeing as the Hogyoku was necessary to have a perfect transformation, it was limited how many people could get involved in that.

Which meant they had literally nothing to do.

"Suck it up, dude. Kick some sand around outside or something if you're that bored." Di Roy replied, before exploding in anger when he died in whatever game he was playing, throwing the controller into the far wall where it broke into a million pieces.

Shawlong shook his head and sighed. "Di Roy, please at least attempt to control your anger. Those controllers are not in unlimited supply." He begged of the other Arrancar.

The small guy whipped around to face Shawlong, who was calmly moving a piece on the board game he was playing. "If I hadn't been controlling my anger, this room would be gone right now." He fumed.

Lucy smirked as she moved one of her own pieces forward in the game she was playing against Shawlong. "Checkmate." She announced gleefully, having won the game. The game they were playing was called 'chess' and actually challenged people's strategy and logic, as opposed to Di Roy's game, which was centered around just trying again and luck. It was fun, and though she'd only just learnt of it she was already at least on par with Shawlong.

Shawlong returned his attention to the board, then sighed in frustration. "This is the third time in a row." He basically complained, which only had her laughing.

"Told you it wouldn't be smart to introduce our sister to this game, brother." Yylfordt said amusedly from where he was sitting, taking care of his nails. "It's not for nothing we have two Espada in here."

"Who the fuck even cares?" Grimmjow crumbled, clearly feeling miserable still.

"It is important to sharpen both mind and sword." Edard commented as he stepped in, having finished actually sharpening his zanpakuto in the other room.

Packing up the game quickly, Lucy sighed. "Okay, if you're that bored, Grim, how about we go try that gym out?" She suggested. Might as well. They had nothing else to do anyway, and it might just shut him up. Besides, they'd just recently asked the Shinigami for a room in which they could train to their hearts' content without any problems. And that's what they'd got. A reishi-enforced room with dummies, logs, targets and whatever else they might think of using - her idea. And then this room, where they could just relax and all - Di Roy's idea.

Grimmjow basically jumped out of his seat, even though it seemed impossible. "Sounds like a good idea." He said calmly, though every single person in this room knew he was ecstatic to be doing something.

She shook her head with a grin. "Come on, idiot." She laughed and began heading towards that room, knowing he'd be following her with more or less of a skip in his step.

It was very big - took up most of the wing, really. But that was what they'd asked for. It needed to be spacious if it was to serve it purpose fully. It was unlikely they'd be confined in small spaces when they were fighting for real after all, especially since it was apparently possible for them to stand on the air through using their reiatsu. So basically… They could fly now.

That, and the only other room of importance in this wing was the one they'd just been in - and it was as big as it was supposed to be. Big enough to could easily hold all of them, but small enough to still be intimate as it should. Their private rooms were only made to be slept in, and that's all they did in them, so there was no reason for them to put a lot of effort into changing those.

Placing themselves somewhere in the middle of the room, they squared off against each other, keeping something like 5 meters' distance between each other "So how do you want to do this?" She asked.

A grin spread on his face and a moment later, he was gone. "Now." She heard him tell her lowly from behind her. Right. Sonido. His favorite trick.

"Cute." She replied sarcastically. In one, flowing movement, she lowered herself to the ground, whipped a leg out and spun around to face him, efficiently knocking him off his feet. "But that's not a real answer to my question." She said, smirking and raising a brow challengingly at the guy, who was messing around on the ground.

During the short time they'd been here, she'd already found she had a little advantage over every other Arrancar here, mostly. Contrary to when she became and Adjuchas, her body actually remembered being a human. So even though a _lot_ of time had been spent in her feline body, she didn't even need any time to adjust to being human again.

Other than those who had been Vasto Lorde for a long amount of time, this also meant she was one of few whose body was used to fighting on a fairly regular level like this. Most others were - to some degree - still learning what they could and couldn't do.

She, on the other hand, had already gotten her own style of fighting, though it needed a little revamp. Others had to start from scratch.

This didn't mean she ruled over them all just like that though. Because unlike her, many others had a whole different level of battle-instinct than anything she'd ever reach, thanks to her having kept her memories. It exceeded people like Natsu and Gajeel by far as well of course. The Hollows remembered nothing but fighting to survive. She lacked that, so that meant they were basically equals.

Unfortunately, Grimmjow wasn't like the generic Arrancar around here - he had a love for fighting which was unrivalled by anyone else in this place, he had strong instincts _and_ he'd had time to get used to his human body as well. So she'd have to be smart about this, if she wanted to win this little spar of theirs. Luckily, she knew his habits through and through.

He jumped back while he pulled himself up from the ground again, creating the distance between them once again. "So? You still get what I meant." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Only because you're so simple." She told him. He said she was readable often. Well, so was he.

She squatted down defensively, seeing the wide grin on his face. The way he was dusting his shoulders off was supposed to make it seem like he had all day. In reality, he was just waiting for the right time to strike, when the other one had their guards down.

Suddenly, he rushed forward as she had predicted he would. He swung an arm at her, but she managed to duck under it and lash out at him instead.

Somehow he easily caught her wrist in his hand raising a brow at her challengingly - just as she had earlier. "You aren't even trying, Kitten. I know you can do better than whatever this shit was." He told her, clearly trying to make her blow up at him.

And it was working for him.

She sneered and glared at him. "Fuck you too, asshole." She snarled as she twisted her body, delivering a quick hit with her knee to his side, only shorty emptying his lungs.

He only laughed, not at all fazed by the hit. "Now, that's more like it." He grinned, the usual mix of madness and happiness on his face.

Pulling herself loose, she jumped back to recreate the distance again, only to push off the ground immediately, charging right at him. He easily sidestepped, avoiding the collision and making her fly straight past him.

Catching herself before she crash-landed, she hit the ground underneath with as much power as she could muster in her arms. The force of it sent her up in the air, where she flipped around to land on her feet safely.

She barely even touched the ground, when she felt a pair of soles digging into her back mercilessly. The momentum from the kick sent her flying straight ahead again, where she soon hit the wall, unable to do anything in her surprise.

"Y'know. This ain't even close to enough if this is supposed to be worth anything as a spar." Grimmjow commented as he approached her. She didn't even have to look to know he was standing with his hands in his pockets, and looking completely nonchalant about the current situation. As if it bored him. "I can't believe you're this weak, Kitten." He taunted her, knowing he hit an insanely sore spot on her.

Unfortunately for him - or maybe it was really the plan - poking at her sore spots only got her even more stubborn to prove him wrong. She peeled herself off the wall and turned to him angrily. Had she not known better, she wouldn't doubt it if he told her steam was coming out of her nose and ears.

He only grinned wider. "How about you just imagine me as that Nnoitora-bastard? Would that make it easier for you to hit this handsome face, Kitten?" He continued relentlessly.

Nnoitora was the fifth Espada and was notorious for his lecherous behavior and his opinion of women being the lesser gender. She hadn't escaped his perverted leering ever since and during that meeting either. No comments so far, but she probably didn't have to wait for long for that either.

She glared at him. "Your ugly mug is enough motivation, but thanks for the offer." She growled at him. No reason to draw in innocents into this.

He laughed when she dashed forward with a burst of the Sonido. She ignored him in favor of concentrating on her reiatsu. She sent it out of her body, lodging it to her finger-nails, but then stretching it out into ten invisible claws of pure energy. Something she'd just recently found out she could do. It was probably only due to her magic though, but that was fine with her.

So when Grimmjow sidestepped - both to avoid and taunt her - it didn't matter. With her arms and claws stretched out, she raked four bloody lines across his chest, before skidding to a stop with a triumphant smirk.

"Heh. Got some tricks up your sleeves, do you?" Ge grunted, clearly trying to mask his surprise with the little 'trick up her sleeve'.

She hummed affirmatively. "So you better watch out." She shot back.

"Yeah right. As if." Was all he said before running at her again, his fist hitting a block she'd quickly set up. "I don't think I'm the one who was to watch out." He told her amusedly.

Knowing what was coming, she jumped and somersaulted over him in time to evade the other fist, which would have crashed into her side. She didn't waste any time as she quickly whipped around, delivering a kick to the back of his knee.

Even though he was forced on his knees, he countered by sending out a wave of his dark reiatsu, momentarily frying her senses. But it was enough of an opening for him. She crumbled to the ground when her stomach was hit and her lungs were emptied.

While she could hardly even breathe, she managed to reach out with a temporary, reiatsu and magic-created tail and wrapped it around the closest leg. With a quick pull, she had him crashing to the ground right beside her. On his ass.

"Goddammit, Kitten..!" He growled at her, which only made her cough-laugh at him. "Shut up! That's not funny." He snarled.

"Yes. Yes it is." She corrected him, only barely not breaking into a laughing-fit.

He got up angrily, before roughly grabbing her arm and pulling her up with him. "We're not done." He muttered grumpily.

Still laughing, she got on her feet. "Sure, sure."

* * *

"Today, there is going to be some changes." Aizen stated as soon as everyone had seated themselves in the meeting room for the Espada.

They'd been called in right in the middle of practicing walking on air. It'd been easy enough to do - for her at least, Grimmjow was having much more trouble with it However, when you both had to focus on keeping your footing steady _and_ use the reiatsu to fight simultaneously, it became much harder. But that was exactly why they were training in the first place.

Turning back to the present, she listened as Aizen continued. "We have discussed and are implementing the changes we briefly touched on last week." He revealed.

Ah yeah. She'd been called in the other day to help them figure out which positions would be fitting for the Espada. And then also help them come up with some ideas for said positions.

"We are going to assign each of you a position, which you will be responsible for, along with a number of Números - though the exact number is dependent on the position you are given. Some naturally require more people than others do. Any questions so far?" He asked, looking around at all of them. It seemed it wasn't just Grimmjow, who'd been wanting something to do. "Wonderful!" He exclaimed, seeing that there were no questions or protests. "We came up with suggestions as to where we think you all would fit in well, but if you feel there is something else you'd rather do, please don't hesitate to tell us. "He said, getting a universal nod from the room. "Now then, will you announce our suggestions, Lucy?"

She nodded, pulling up the list they'd created, fighting not to shiver under all the attention she suddenly got. "First, we are in need of two to be in charge of the protection of Las Noches in case of something unexpected. This will include regularly patrolling around Las Noches and outside. The two we have suggested are Coyote Stark and Zommeri Rureaux." She told them.

They'd put Stark and Zommeri on that because it wouldn't take too much effort for Stark to rotate the guards once in a while, and Zommeri just fit well for the job, calm and composed as he was.

Stark was a very lazy person in general, but seemed kind enough. He was a tall guy with long, brown hair and a bit of stubble - further cementing the truth that was the face that he was the laziest person she'd ever met. That said, he showed up to every meeting, so he did what he had to, at least.

Zommeri was the seventh Espada and a very silent and very calm individual, but with an insane amount of adoration for Aizen. So she didn't have much doubt that the dark-skinned guy would love to do the guarding of this place. He was actually quite big and muscular in appearance.

She immediately continued as the two nodded. "Next, we still need to keep watch of the potential strong recruits in Hueco Mundo, as well as keeping a stock of Hollows for when High-speed regeneration is necessary, and in preparation for future use. For this, we've suggested Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Nnoitora Gilga." She announced.

Both of them were fight-lovers, though they did things very differently. So far, all she knew about Nnoitora was that he was the fifth and was the pervert of the group. He was skinny, had long, black hair, had an eye-patch for whatever reason and kept a creepy, toothy smile. Not creepy like Gin's, just the kind which made you uncomfortable being around. She didn't care to know more about him either. The fact that his number was on his tongue said enough.

Speaking of Nnoitora, he spoke up, as she had feared he would. "I'll only do this, if I can do it with you." He announced, gesturing to her. Ah, so there was the first comment. He then turned to the Shinigami as a silent sigh of frustration rung through the gathered group. "As Grimmjow's Fracción, she'll be doing it anyway, right?" He asked, clearly thinking he'd outsmarted someone. He hadn't.

She had to poke Grimmjow's shoulder when she felt his growling was turning into an explosion. She was about to tell the dick-head what she thought of the idea herself, but Gin cut her to it. "Ya either do it alone or she'll hafta take yer place as an Espada." He told the Arrancar, his smile just a little wider than usual. It was a bluff, of course, as the placements were ordered by amount of reiryoku, but she'd bet he had forgotten that.

While Grimmjow broke out laughing and Nnoitora cursed under his breath, Aizen gestured a brushing motion to her. "Please continue." He asked, effectively ignoring Nnoitora.

"Right." She said, really trying hard not to giggle as well. She looked down at the list again, finding where she'd gotten to quickly. "All right, so we also need pair of Espada in charge of training and managing the army. Actually create soldiers and prepare them for the upcoming war. You are to teach them to both attack and defend properly. And with Gin's help, you will teach them the habits of the Shinigami and how to counter them." She explained. So really, they were three on that task. But it was likely the most important one with most Números in it as well. "Here, we suggest Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargot." She announced.

The fourth and tenth - though really zeroth when he released his zanpakuto - Espadas. Yammy was a giant, to put it mildly. She wouldn't be surprised if he sometimes needed two chairs to sit comfortably. He had only the thin, black ponytail down his back, otherwise he was bald. Another fight-loving person.

Ulquiorra was probably the smallest of the Espada. He didn't seem all that muscular at first glance, however she knew from experience he hid a lot of power under that skin. Little strange with the green lines under his dead, green eyes as he'd had as a Vasto, but it seemed to be a trend for the guys here to wear 'war-paint' on their faces - most of them did, Grimmjow included.

The two complimented each other well though - Ulquiorra was the calmness and the brains, whereas Yammy was the muscles and the initiative. The two of them and Gin honestly seemed like a good tam to take care of building the army up.

Getting a nod and a 'hell yeah!', she figured that was sign enough for her to could continue. "Good. Then, Szayelapporo Granz, this one is specifically for you" She said, looking up to meet his eyes. Score! He thought he was special now. "We want you to - and this is going to sound vague - but we want you to invent." She told him directly.

"Just invent…?" He asked skeptically, looking at her confusedly.

She nodded. "Yes, just invent." She confirmed. "Whatever you may come up with, please tell us. Anything would be wonderful." She said with a smile.

Aizen nodded stepping into the conversation as well. "If you need people other than your own Fracción, don't hesitate to tell us that as well." He said. Seeing Szayelaporro's less than impressed expression, he elaborated. "I'm sorry, but at this point, we do not know what you might need, what you will come up with and how it might be incorporated. I'll have to ask you to just try things out and tell us whenever you find an obstacle." He apologized. "I hope you will bear with us still."

Szayelaporro - who she'd now just call 'Szayel' for the sake of convenience - looked at the Shinigami for a long moment, then nodded. "It sounds crazy. I'm in." He said, a sort of grin on his face.

She smiled slightly. "Glad to have you on board." She quickly said before looking back down again. "Okay. So with the increased training and thus fighting, we're also in need of an infirmary, where we'll be keeping the stock of Hollows close by." She looked up at Harribel, the third Espada. "Tier Harribel, we're thinking of putting you on that spot." She told her. As expected, she got a single, quick nod from the other blonde woman.

She looked pretty close to the same as she did as a Vasto, just without the blade-arm and such. Her demeanor so far also seemed pretty much the same. So yeah, the infirmary was a pretty fitting spot for her.

"Okay. Then we need an execution-squad as well.. To take care of traitors, though we hopefully won't have any of that, and if we have prisoners from the Soul Society. So you'll also be taking care of the cells." She explained. If some Números decided to misbehave or get excessively violent, they'd probably also be put down there for some time. Just to keep everyone busy. "For this, we were thinking of you, Aaroniero Arrurueria." She said, somehow managing to not butcher his name.

It was fitting for him, she though. He generally preferred to say in the dark most of the time and was a bit of a sadist. As the ninth - and actually the weakest of the Espada - that was a fairly powerful position to have. She had absolutely no idea how he actually looked, since his face was always covered in some strange, tall hat/mask of sorts.

What was most impressive about him though, was the face that he had been a Gillian before becoming an Arrancar. Not even Adjuchas. She didn't even dare think about how strong he'd have been if he had been a Vasto when they found him instead.

With a nod from him as well, she continued to the last one on her list. "Finally, we will need one of you to be in charge of making sure all of this runs smoothly. That everyone has the amount of Números required and that new ones will get placed correctly into this system." She said. So basically paperwork, just put in an exciting way. "Barragan Louisenbairn, we've suggested you for this." She told him.

The second Espada - previous king of Hueco Mundo. He had the appearance of an elder man, with his white hair and beard and the old battle-scars. She knew that he, as the former king, was used to and loved shouting orders at people, and she also knew that hadn't changed. Even though he was only the third strongest Espada, he thought himself the strongest and talked as if he was. Even his Fracción were told to still call him 'his majesty'.

That was why she had no doubts he would agree to the position. He would sort of be the king again, and he'd love that. True enough, a satisfied snort came from him. "A task worthy of my position. I will do this." He agreed.

She smiled again, though on the inside she was boiling because of his arrogance. "Thanks for your help with this. All of you." She then added. "Are there any questions?" She asked. Most of them had had a little time to think about things now, so there might just be some.

Harribel was the first to say something. "In this infirmary.. What am I supposed to do, exactly? We can easily heal through our regeneration and it usually does not take a lot of time. I am not sure I understand the purpose of it." She said, her arms crossed, but a gently curiosity in her green eyes. Fair question.

Lucy nodded, understanding her confusion. "You are right. We are not in need of surgeries or extended healing periods. But some will undoubtedly get injured during training with Ulquiorra, Yammy and Gin. What we need you to do is get these people back on their feet as quickly as possible so they can get back to whatever they were doing, speeding up their regeneration with the Hollows in stock. This way, we will have all the injured in one place and out of the way. No, they will likely not be there for more than a day, but it will ultimately give us more and stronger soldiers, as they can heal quickly in ideal surroundings." She explained.

Harribel nodded. "I see." She said, ending that there.

Yammy was the next one to speak up. "So what? You want me to beat the crap out of those ants on a daily basis - because I'll gladly do it." He said, somewhat of a grin on his face.

She sort of nodded. "Well, kind of. You are to teach them how to defend themselves and that will indeed require you to attack them. No reason to break their necks every time, though." She said, getting an amused snort out of the big guy. She looked to Ulquiorra. "Likewise, we were thinking you'd take care of teaching them proper offense. But, well, it's all up to you how you do it really. If you find something else more efficient - go ahead." She said, getting a nod from the both of them.

Waiting for a moment in silence, it seemed no one else had any questions, so Aizen took the word. "Of course, here in the beginning, things will all move slowly. We are all new to this system and figuring out our own places in it. So please, give it a try and have some patience. And if you find something to be wrong, please tell us immediately and we'll do what we can to fix it." He asked of them.

Yes, this system was obviously basically a copy of the one they used in the Soul Society and they all knew that. But those guys had been running around with that for thousands of years without any changes - other than the captains - so something about it must be right. And with so many high-ranking people, giving each of them an area to work with and people to order around, it was one of few effective ways of doing things. It further made them feel that they really were above their subordinates and the subordinates would truly respect that these ten were their superiors. It was the lack of systems and organized ranks which had made the Soul Society superior. And the lack of that was because no one respected anyone. But that had changed now.

"Now then, for the second point of the day." Aizen said, breaking her out of her thoughts once again. She quietly put the list down in her pocket, allowing herself to lean on the chair in front of her as she listened to the Shinigami once again, instead of being the center of attention. "I don't know how much you have all heard of it already, however the Soul Society has allied themselves with a human from Earth. Ichigo Kurosaki is his name." He told them.

"A human?" Szayel asked as if they'd just told him something stupid. Under normal circumstances, he'd be right. "How will that thing ever be a topic of discussion for us?"

"Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pose any sort of threat for us, no. However, this human is not like any other." He said, holding a dramatic pause for good measure. "Just recently, he infiltrated Soul Society and rescued a friend while all captains were looking, and before then managed to beat a captain and several lieutenants to get there." He warned them, once again making it sound more extreme than it probably really was.

Barragan still looked unimpressed. "All that tells us is that those fools are even weaker than first anticipated." He grunted. His statement seemed to be widely agreed upon.

"No." Tosen said, speaking up for the first time since entering. "Ichigo Kurosaki is no ordinary human. He has reiryoku rivalling that of the lieutenants, at the very least. He is not to be taken lightly." He curtly explained.

Aizen nodded softly. "We cannot take him lightly." He confirmed. "As of now, I highly doubt he poses any real threat to us, however we know the Soul Society will ally themselves with him and he will be given the opportunity to be trained. I am afraid this human possesses a lot more potential than any of us might even imagine." He said, putting his hands together in front of him almost worriedly.

Yammy slammed a big hand onto the table. "Let's go kill him, then. Get him outta the way." He suggested. Yup, she'd suggested that too. But that wouldn't do.

Tosen shook his head. "If we do that, it will only make the Soul Society retaliate all the sooner." He answered. The same answer she got.

Yammy looked confused. "And what's the problem with that?" He asked.

Aizen answered this time. "If this war is going to get a kick start, it would be preferable it is on our own terms rather than theirs." He replied, which seemed to be understood and agreed upon.

"So what do we do about him, then?" Nnoitora asked, his toothy smile turned upside down. In annoyance, no doubt.

"I want to have him tested out. His current strength. That way, it will be possible for us to measure and predict how much stronger he is likely to become. If he will be a threat we must watch out for." He explained. It seemed they'd thought more on the topic since she'd mentioned it.. So had they also decided who to send? "We have decided to send Ulquiorra and Yammy to test him out. Yammy, I wish for you to attack, whereas Ulquiorra, I would like you to keep a watchful eye and show us what you witness while there upon your return." He said, to which both of them nodded, once again. Well, that answered that.

Two Espada.. Good idea. Should something extreme happen, they would be two. And the way he said that, it seemed like Ulquiorra might have a technique, which allowed him to 'record' what he sees. So that was a good pair to send off.

"When are we to leave?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I would like you to leave in a pair of days' time or so - before truly settling in as the army leaders." Aizen told them. "And if you get the chance, try to see if some of his friends may also be of any problems." Ulquiorra easily nodded to both. And that marked the end of the day's meeting. "Wonderful. You are all dismissed."

* * *

 **Ahhh, here we go. Done and done, though actually quite a bit shorter than usual. But stuff happened, so it's okay.**

 **So yeah, a scene with Grim and Lucy once again - I just couldn't help it. I hope you felt the sparks fly, because they were supposed to XD**

 **And yes, a very long meeting here. The one with Szayel was a suggestion from one of you readers - a Guest - so very much thank you for that! It kinda pushed me to have the last things figured out as well and placed. So we'll see how that all turns out.**

 **And well, to tell you the honest truth, I was planning on adding so many more things in this chapter. But as it turned out, these two scenarios filled much more than expected, so I'll just be saving that for next time instead - and it'll probably be a hell of a long chapter as well, knowing me**

 **Well, hope you enjoyed! And thanks to all who has read, followed, favorited and commented!**

 **~Line464d**


	11. Chapter 11 - Reasoning

**Chapter 11 - Reasoning**

 **Okay, so this is not proofread yet as I've been struggling with time-management (clearly not forgetting all about it until weekend .-.'). But it will be proofed as soon as possible and then this comment will be deleted.  
So basically, if you find a bunch of mistakes sprinkled all over the place, that's why. And I know. And I will probably catch them in the proof-reading stage. **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!  
Disclaimer: Sure it isn't a surprise at this point, but I don't own neither Bleach nor Fairy Tail. **

… **.**

The meeting had ended and Grimmjow had already run off to get started on his new task, leaving Lucy in the dust. He was honestly like a little boy sometimes.

But it was fine, because it gave her a chance to finally catch up with Harribel just a little.

"I have to say; I am impressed, Lucy." The other and much taller blonde commented when the smaller one fell into pace with her.

"Impressed?" Lucy repeated, feeling her cheeks heat up a little, despite not being sure what the other Arrancar was talking about just yet.

"Yes." Harribel confirmed, nodding her head. "As soon as you showed up here, things start to change, move and happen." She elaborated,, glancing down at the smaller blonde. "I do not know what you tell those three, but I am impressed." She repeated once more.

Lucy smiled and scratched the back of her head, not knowing what else to do with her hands. "Well, thank you. But it's basically just a copy of the Soul Society's, you know…" She trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

"That may very well be." Harribel agreed, having obviously also caught onto that. "However you still managed to incorporate it here, found something to do and fitted everyone to their positions so well. You may have copied the system, but you cannot copy the people." She said, not pausing at any point.

The pseudo-Espada couldn't help smiling and feeling a little uncomfortable under the compliments. "Thank you. It's not only me though. But yeah, we've come far." She admitted. She couldn't disagree - they had made some awesome changes already. And more were on the way.

Harribel nodded along, pausing for just a moment. "Did you come up with all of it by yourself?" She then asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Nah. Worked it out with the other three, of course. They know all of you guys much better than I do at this point, so I couldn't do it without them." She reassured the other blonde. Sure, she might have pushed them to get things done, but it wasn't like she could do everything just like that by herself. She was no superwoman.

She followed Harribel down the hall which likely led to her wing. It seemed Harribel had caught on to Lucy's mood and changed the topic. "I am actually a little surprise to see you and Grimmjow here." She announced. "Especially Grimmjow doesn't seem like the kind of person who would thrive in a place like this." She commented, clearly choosing her words as carefully as she could.

Lucy laughed a little and nodded. "That's true, he doesn't." She confirmed. "Honestly, he was won over at the idea of more power. But, well, he still has a problem with orders." She said amusedly. It helped that she was in there making the orders, but it probably still stung his heart every time he was forced to follow one.

Harribel smiled a little. "I don't doubt that." She looked down at Lucy again. "That is him. How about you?" She then asked.

Lucy sighed, not actually sure how to answer her question. "Well. I guess I just followed along." She replied. It was a white lie. She basically did since she hadn't trusted Aizen like then, but didn't know what else to do that to follow Grimmjow. Harribel didn't need to know all of that though. "What about you? What made you agree to all of this?" she asked, finally able to turn the conversation away from herself.

"It's likely as you have suspected already." She somewhat slowly said. "It is because of the goal they strive for - a united Hueco Mundo and the unison between Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. There will be no hostility between both places and no need for bloodshed at all. Not even in Hueco Mundo itself." She explained.

Yeah, that was more or less exactly what she'd expected the Espada to tell her. Still, though it was the easiest method, it probably wasn't the cleanest…

Lucy looked up at the other Arrancar curiously. "So you're fine with the upcoming war and all?" She asked. That was most definitely going to be a bloodbath.

The woman huffed lightly. "No, I cannot say I like that. However, even if I attempted something else, there are too many here in favor of the war, as it is the fastest method. That said, even if it _is_ war, I believe the end justifies the means in this case." She explained patiently.

"I see." Lucy replied. That was interesting. But not unexpected.

Their conversation was halted when a small woman came running at them from ahead. "Harribel! You're back!" The girl with short, black hair and the remains of her mask right on top of her head half yelled as she approached.

"Indeed, I have." She confirmed for the girl, who soon flew straight to the blonde, catching her in a not quite expected hug, it seemed. Must be Harribel's Fracción.

"So! What happened back there today?" The black-haired one asked impatiently, turning her heterochromatic amber and blue eyes to the Espada, meanwhile completely ignoring Lucy.

From where this new person appeared, two more ladies stepped into view - an exotic-looking one with dark skin and wild curls and another much more traditional Japanese-looking with long sleeves with which she covered her mouth and long, coal-black hair. The exotic one grinned widely, while the other one rolled her eyes in obvious irritation with the one hugging Harribel.

Harribel released a sound which was something between a sigh and a little laugh. "I will tell you all later. For now…" She turned and looked to Lucy, who'd remained silent for now. "Lucy, these are my Fracción, Emilou Apacci-" She nodded towards the one who'd been hugging her, but was now looking curiously at Lucy. "Franceska Mila Rosa-" She looked towards the exotic-looking one, who turned her grin to Lucy and waved at her, seemingly a bit confused though. "And Cyan Sung-Sun." Harribel finished up the introduction with the one with the sleeves, who simply looked at Lucy with skeptical, narrowed eyes. The Espada then turned to her three Fracción, gesturing to Lucy. "And this is Lucy Heartfilia, the pseudo-Espada I've been telling you about."

The one called Emilou Apacci - the one with short, black hair - turned to Lucy again, now with a pair of very wide and very different eyes. "Ohhhh… That one you found that one time.. What'shisface's Fracción, right?" She asked, almost stumbling over the words as she spoke. Meanwhile, Cyan Sung-Sun looked absolutely horrified that Apacci so openly disrespected an Espada right in front of their Fracción.

Lucy laughed and nodded, though. First time she met someone straight up forgetting one of the Espada's names. "Yeah, I'm Grimmjow what'shisface Jaegerjaquez' Fracción. Nice to meet you all." She said, not able to keep down a smile when that made Franceska bark out in laughter. It had been way too long since she'd been around actual girls, to be quite honest.

"To your own leader… How can you speak about him like that?" Cyan asked so quietly Lucy almost hadn't heard her. She looked at the blonde stranger with wide, lavender eyes, painted in shock.

Lucy grinned a little lopsidedly. "Well, you know. He's an idiot, and he needs to know that. He does shit like this all the time too." She said, to Franceska and Appaci's great amusement, clearly. "Besides, it's more like we're co-leaders of sorts at this point, so it's fine." She said with a roll of her eyes. She seemed to be the brains, he seemed to be the brawns. Or at the very least a limiter to his impulsiveness.

"Well that sounds absolutely hilarious." Franceska said with a genuine, wide grin. "You don't have a choice now - you have to tell us it all." She warned the blonde, before Apacci grabbed Lucy's wrist - clearly in on this plan - and dragged Lucy deeper into the 3rd Espada's wing.

….

Lucy knocked the door in front of her a few times and peeked inside. "You wanted to see me?" She asked, looking towards the person in question.

Aizen got off his chair and went just a little faster than normal towards the door, a little smile on his face. "Ah yes, thanks for coming. Please, come inside." He said, nodding for his two fangirls to let the blonde in and close the door after her.

Loly had just a moment ago picked her up at Harribel's and told her Aizen wanted to speak with her, looking much less than impressed. Lucy - on the other hand - found it incredibly entertaining that out of the two, it had to be the one which liked her least, which came to pick her up. She had to wonder if Aizen knew that and was actually teasing the poor girl.

He'd kind of disturbed her though… She'd been having a great time with those four, finally being around estrogen and not testosterone. However, they'd all agreed that it was best not to let Aizen wait for too long, so she'd gone off with the promise she'd be by them again before the end of the week.

This was also when she noticed something… Strange. "Tosen and Gin are not here..?" She asked a little slowly, looking around the room for the two Shinigami. She didn't particularly like any of them, to be quite honest, but it was a little… Well, a little alarming that it was only Aizen and herself.

"Ah, no." Aizen confirmed, promptly stopping her search for the two, and turning his back to her as he returned to where he'd been sitting before. "I believe Gin is preparing with Ulquiorra and Yammy for how they are going to manage the army's training. Tosen is out there as well, making sure everything is in order and informing the Números about the upcoming changes with the Espada." He explained, finally placing himself in the little couch they usually made their plans in. "I hope it is okay that it is only the two of us today."

She quickly nodded, placing herself in the other end of the couch as well. "Yeah, that's fine." She replied as nonchalantly as she could.

He inhaled semi-deeply - and semi-loudly in the otherwise silent room - before he spoke. "You know, I was a little surprised back at that meeting earlier today." He informed her, leaving her incredibly confused. Probably noting this, he continued. "When you were put in charge of all ten of them - all of which are stronger than you - you handled it with such grace." He complimented her. She didn't even know what to say, so it gave him the opportunity to continue. "You did not falter at any point, you listened and answered to all questions an dealt with all their personalities beautifully." He kept on going.

Before he could throw any more adjectives after her, she stepped in and cut his rant off. "Well, thank you very much, but I'm sure any of the others could've done the same if they had to." She brushed it off. It was one of her fatal flaws - dealing with compliments. She couldn't. It seemed to be one of those things which would stick with her no matter what happened.

He shook his head lightly, looking at the wall ahead as he spoke. "No, not quite like that." He corrected her. "Because to some extent they would see each other as equals in strength. To them, you might 'only' be a Fracción, not the pseudo-Espada you really are. And that is why it is incredibly impressive; what you did." He said, turning to her. "As a matter of fact, it is quite rare for someone to be able to do that."

She felt her cheeks heating up and knew without a doubt that it was also showing. She was not used to getting complimented, never really had been. So to have so many come flooding all at once was… Quite hard to deal with for her.

She mustered up a smile, trying to play off what she knew her face was revealing. "Well… If you say it's that impressive, then…" She didn't even know what the hell to say to this. How to respond. Her mind was drawing a very, very clear blank.

It seemed like Aizen actually snickered. Sort of. Probably more of a chuckle. "Is it that hard for you to accept that you're good at something?" He asked, clearly finding this funny if his tone of voice was anything to go by.

She breathed out somewhat exasperatedly, looking down at her knees. Damn all the sharp minds in this place. "… Yes." Was all she could reply. It was no use lying about that to this guy - it was already clear as day to him.

"There is no reason to." He replied, getting up from his seat. "You have so much more intellect than a lot of the… Brawny types… We have around here. Even sharper than some of our sharpest. And, unlike those few we already do have, yours isn't just all about battle-plans and strategy. No, what you are truly good at is knowing people." He said, turning around. "Knowing them, their personalities. What they likely want to do and do not want to do."

She simply listened silently. Yes… She was aware she could quite easily decipher people - the main points to their personality and all that. She had spent much of her time just people-watching, both when alive and now. Whenever she could. But… Well, she couldn't be the only one here who could do that. That would be ridiculous.

"You easily control a group of quite different - and I suppose also quite exotic - people, make them all listen to you and deal with them when they might cause trouble. Not that there was much of that this time around." He continued almost as if going by a list he'd written down the other night. "I know, without a doubt, that you are a natural-born leader, Lucy." He told her honestly.

Her head shot up then. "Leader?" She asked, the idea somewhat foreign to her, but then also familiar at the same time. Hadn't she said just a while ago that she was the co-leader of Grimmjow's Fracción?

She had, but… Well, he situation kind of just.. Came to be. What with her coming here and talking with the big guys, actually making plans. Whether she would have liked to or not, being put in that position also meant she'd have to be a leader back there. There wasn't more to it.

"Yes, a leader." Aizen confirmed calmly. "But not just the regular one, who rules with fear and power - like, say, Barragan when he was the king of Hueco Mundo. What you are capable of is much more important, because you make each and every one of them-" He pointed at the door and figuratively all the Arrancar on the other side of it. "Feel important. Special. Worth something."

Well. It was exactly what had been beat into her at a very young age. She'd been taught that way back. After all, when you made someone feel special…

"Because of that, you can make each of them do what you want them to. Willingly." He said, his arms spread out wide in emphasis. "Can you not see how important that is? In a place like this?" He continued, saying it as if it was supposed to be obvious.

She sighed. It really didn't feel like he was talking about her right now. "I'm grateful for your… Belief in me. But. I didn't do all that." She told him somewhat firmly. No, honestly it sounded more like he was talking about himself.

A smile crept its way up on his face. "As I thought. You don't let it get to your head." He said. She looked at him confusedly. What? So all of this had just been him testing her? Typical. "You are right, you have not done all of these things yet." He agreed, finally sitting down again. "But as I said, there is not a doubt in my mind that you are capable of doing all of these things." He finished off.

She looked at him with a raised brow. "And what gave you that idea?" She asked him. What was all this flattery for?

The smile never left his face. "You and I are similar in that way, that is how I know." He told her. "With some time and practice, I know you can do it - just as I have. It is an invaluable skill. It would be a shame not to use it."

"Well, we'll see." She replied. It was not like it was something you could just sit down and practice either way, so it would just come with time. If it came at all. "It can't be the only reason you called me here though, is it?" She asked, her arms crossed lightly in front of her.

He shook his head. "No, it isn't. Of course." He confirmed. "I also wanted to hear what your own thoughts are on how the Espada received our ideas." He stated.

She took just a short moment to think before replying. "I think they all received it well." She said, trying to remember the situation as vividly as she could. "I don't remember anyone looking like they disliked the idea of it, really. It's probably easier to tell what they think once it all really gets started though, then it'll show." She reasoned.

Generally, the Espada weren't all that expressive, a lot of them could keep a poker-face pretty well. And usually did it too. So they were actually pretty hard to read.

He nodded. "Yes, that is what I feel as well." He agreed. "The only one I might be worried for is Szayelaporro and whether he will be willing to share his inventions in the end. He'll likely come around, though." He said thoughtfully.

She nodded. He had been the one who had been most obviously confused with his position. Of course it didn't help that none of them had actually had it defined or anything like that, but still. He seemed like the shakiest one out of all of them.

She tilted her head to the side a little. "I think what might bother some of them is that it is so similar to the Soul Society's. Or am I wrong?" She asked. Harribel hadn't seemed all that worried about it, but it might be different for some of the others.

Aizen hummed in thought. "I doubt that is a problem." He then answered after a short moment of silence. He nodded to himself as if confirming his certainty in that. Maybe it really wasn't all that big of a deal.

As a sudden thought popped into her head, she looked at Aizen almost searchingly. Trying to find out if it would be inappropriate to ask this. Eh, what did she have to lose? "Say… What exactly made you split from the Soul Society…? - if you don't mind me asking, that is." She quickly added at the end.

He looked at her, clearly surprised by the sudden question. He had no doubt seen it coming, probably just not quite yet. He then seemed to really consider whether he should or not.

Making a decision, he made himself just a little bit more comfortable in the seat, looking off into the room, as if seeing everything all over again. "Well, it's quite simple, I suppose." He started off, likely trying to find out how to begin. "In truth, it is something I have been planning to do for thousands of years. From way back, when I was just a little kid - when I had just started my training to become a Shinigami." He told her.

She had to take just a moment to get wrap her mind around the fact that this man - who really looked only a few years older than herself - was actually thousands of years old. It was crazy to accept, really.

He continued on despite her confused state. "I was young and stupid back then, but so were many of the others around me. Eager to become one of the so revered Shinigami, who protected everyone else from the Soul Society from anything that might befall them. I had a pair of friends - Hikari Kasumi, a sweet, young girl I may or may not have been crushing on back then-" He said with a little, reminiscent laugh. "And Koga Kaosu, a guy I had been friends with from before we even started in the Shinigami Academy." He said.

She decided that until he would clearly invite her to speak, she would remain silent and simply just listen to his story. A little strange to think about Aizen actually having a crush on someone, but also so very sweet at the same time.

"Actually, Koga and I had decided we would both become Shinigami the day we were saved by one. A stray Hollow had attacked the village we live in, you see, and killed most of the people we knew there. Including those we called our families." He explained as a heavy smile graced his face. "We swore we would become the strongest of Shinigami, who would protect everyone against everything - just as that man had us."

She smiled along. It wasn't too far from herself - except she had only promised to be as kind a Celestial mage as her mother. Nothing about strength, only the kindness her mother had told her to treasure time and time again.

"We both stumbled into this girl the day we enrolled there. She seemed to be a bit of a klutz and accidentally bothered a group of guys, who really weren't the kind of guys you'd want to bother the first day of school." He said. She could already tell where this was going, she hardly needed him to tell her. "Of course, being the heroes we were, Koga and I quickly jumped in and told those guys to leave her alone. We succeeded, but not without a bruise or two." He said, chuckling at the end. "And that was how we met Hikari."

The way he had laughed and was now telling her all this made dread rise in her and crawl up her spine. Obviously, something horrible would happen to these three…

"Of course, we were fast friends from then on and always stuck together no matter what we did." He said, though that was pretty obvious already. "I think it was around our third semester, when we were taught how to travel between Soul Society and Earth through this portal we call the 'Dangai'. It was one of the things we had really looked forward to doing, as that would allow us to fight Hollows once in a while." He explained as the smile slowly faded from his face again. "Just doing it with the class and an inspector always supervising us wasn't enough for us - we were simply too eager to pay back the Hollows, who had once killed our village."

She sighed inwardly, looking at Aizen with worry and sorrow painted on her face, knowing already what was in store for these three friends.

"So, stupid and naïve as we also were, and despite Hikari's worries, all three of us went to Earth in a city, which we had heard a Hollow was terrorizing." He explained, running a hand through his hair. "What we didn't realize was that for the common Shinigami to be talking about a Hollow was rare and therefore a special case. This Hollow in particular was one of the strongest there had ever been in the existence of Shinigami and _that_ was why they had been talking about it."

Completely enraptured by his story, she didn't even care that her hair was being irritating and hanging into her face or for the fact that she had basically turned 90 degrees in the couch.

"We couldn't sense that we were severely outmatched and jumped head-first into the battle. We fought all that we could, but that Hollow was only playing with us. Finally, it got enough of us insects flying around it, and slammed its fist right down on Koga." She watched silently as one of his hands made its way to his cheek, as if brushing something off. "He was nothing more than a garbled mess. Blood exploded out everywhere… I can still remember the warm feeling of it on my skin.." He trailed off, staring ahead with slightly widened eyes.

His description of it reminded her too much of the things she had done as a Hollow. She had done that with pleasure - just as this Hollow had. Again and again and again… And again.

"I grabbed Hikari then and ran. I tried to put some distance between us and it while it ate my best friend. I was terrified, I was angry, but I didn't want to lose another friend. So we ran. Back to and through the Dangai with the Hollow right at our heels. I've never run so fast in my life." The comment might have intended to be humorous but his tone of voice killed any fun it might have been. "In the Dangai, we somehow managed to outrun it, but it was still right behind us. As soon as we came outside of it, I screamed for help, having long since realized that Hollow was no task for us."

This should have probably been the more relieving part of his tale, seeing as they both should be safe now, but his expression told her a whole other story.

"Many Shinigami came - lieutenants even, but no captains, as they were stuck in a meeting at the time. Before they got out, the others had managed to draw the Hollow into one of the many Hollow pits installed around Seireitei - the Shinigami headquarters - from where it couldn't get up again." He explained. "Hundreds of Shinigami died doing that, especially a lot from the 5th division, as that was where we had ended up."

She had this… Unexplainable feeling that this wasn't the worst part of whatever he was going to tell her.

"The captains and everyone else there were not impressed by us… They sent someone to bring Koga back, but there was nothing to bring back. And we were to be punished." He gritted his teeth in what looked like both regret and sadness. "I took the blame upon myself - Hikari had not wanted to go, it was only Koga and I, who had wanted to do it. She came along unwillingly. So they decided the verdict."

Seeing the pure look of pain in his expression, she gently reached out and took his hand, putting it between both of hers.

He seemed to only now realize she was still here and gave her a tiny, pained smile before continuing. "I was to… Watch. Watch Hikari thrown into that pit. Watch one of my closest friends and the girl that I liked get torn into bits, piece by piece. Tortured, screaming for me and screaming for help. Right before my eyes. I couldn't do a thing. That was my punishment." He shut his eyes closed roughly, forcing the single tear which had been building in it out. "They killed it while it was eating…" He managed out shakily.

Thinking it the only thing she could do, she reached out to Aizen to give him the hug she was without a doubt he needed. She may be dead. She may be in Hueco still. Aizen may be strong and he may be the leader of some of the most vicious people she had ever met. But, he was still human.

"I'm sorry this had to happen for you." She said lowly, figuring now was the time for her to talk if any. "I am so, so sorry." She repeated to Aizen, who, from the feel of things, was surprised by her sudden initiative.

Nonetheless, he thawed out of the ice he'd been frozen in and almost carefully wrapped his arms around her as well, breathing in deeply. "Yes… I am as well." He sighed as he fought to get his composure back.

Ignoring the slight oddity of the situation, she continued to hold him. And she would, until he pulled back. "We will get them down." She said and felt in herself that she meant it. "No matter what it takes. We will get those assholes down for what they have done." Yes, this may have been something that happened a thousand years ago, but if they were capable of shit like this then, then they sure as hell was capable of shit like that now as well.

She felt him squeeze her lightly, before pulling back and looking into her eyes with an almost soft look on his face. "You remind me a lot of her, you know." He told her lowly, barely above a whisper. Hikari… "I guess.. That's why I let you in back then." He added as an afterthought.

He was talking about back when she'd barged in with his coat, no doubt. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him… Knowing that it was because of one stupid mistake that both of his friends were murdered so brutally right in front of him. Leaving only him alive.

She smiled, knowing it was probably one of the greatest compliments this man could give. "She must have been a wonderful girl." She said, joking lightly but also meaning it. She hadn't heard a lot from this, but… She sounded like a kind and caring girl from the way he talked about her.

"She was." He confirmed, looking lost in the memory once again.

Lucy reached out and put a hand on his otherwise firm shoulder. "Aizen, if there is anything I can do, please tell me." She said, feeling a sort of rush of inspiration.

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Lucy." He replied, before a thought seemed to strike him. "Actually, there might be one thing…"

….

"Uhm… So what do I do with this?" She asked, looking down at the little, blue orb, which was encased in a little, crystal cage. The Hogyoku.

"You simply let a bit of your reiatsu into it, that will release the crystal. Then only let your reiatsu touch it - and no more than that - and it will be absorbed into your arm, as you saw it done to me." Aizen explained. "When you feel it is somewhat rooted in you, blast it out with a burst of reiatsu. The expulsion will create the wave of light you remember."

She nodded, looking a little worriedly at him. They were at the training-gym at their wing right now, seeing as all the others - except Shawlong and Nakeem - were out hunting. And by 'they' she didn't just mean herself and Aizen this time, it also included Tosen and Gin.

And what they wanted her to do, was to make them Arrancar as well.

"Lucy, I trust you can do this. It isn't difficult at all, the Hogyoku does everything for you." He tried to calm her nerves, which were clearly sitting on the outside of her skin right now.

But whose wouldn't?

It was only just a very short moment ago that Aizen had told her that she was the only Arrancar in this place she trusted to do this. Because if someone put too much reiatsu into the Hogyoku, they would gain a lot of power - though it would likely kill them in the end - and that temptation would be too much for many. Especially because that would leave these three relatively weak for the rest of their time.

And the worst part? Obviously, she'd have to _only_ use her reiatsu and not the faintest hint of magic. Not only did she not know what it could do, but it might just blow her cover as well. She didn't even need Grimmjow to remind her to know that that was an insanely stupid thing to do in front of these three. Maybe especially Gin, who might actually recognize it too.

"All right…" She breathed out, calming herself somehow as she closed her eyes. She closed her eyes and focused on her reiatsu. Lately, through sparring and practicing with Grimmjow, she had really gotten good at manipulating it. It wasn't much different than managing her magic to her keys, back when she did that.

And that was exactly the scenario she was imagining right here. The Hokgyoku was not the Hogyoku, it was Loke's key, and she was about to summon him. She gently guided the energy out through her arms and into the object in her hands.

She felt the glass-like substance disappear, and then gently reached out with the reiatsu and let it touch the little orb. When she pulled it back, she felt the Hogyoku following. She opened her eyes and watched as the little thing landed in her palm and spread out from it into her veins.

Feeling it spreading its roots gradually, she looked up at all three of them, who were watching her intently. "Are you ready?" She asked them, feeling the need to ask though it probably wasn't necessary.

She got three nods. "Yeah. Just blast 'em whenever ya feel like it." Gin replied with his usual smile, though it looked just a bit more cocky than usual.

She nodded firmly again, deciding that the Hogyoku was probably already rooted deeply enough into her veins. Visualizing a picture of where she gathered her reiatsu up into a ball near her shoulder, she quickly blasted it off down her arm, forcing the Hogyoku back and out of her arm and hand again.

As soon as the little orb left her skin, the bright, white light washed out into every direction, blinding each and every one of them.

She seemed to regain her vision a little sooner than what she remembered the other time and saw the three soon-to-be-Arrancar in front of her covered in the blinding light. So much so, they were only really silhouettes. It faded away soon enough, leaving them to be seen again.

Anticlimactic as it was, there was literally no visible change to any of them. They all looked completely the same. However, the quality of their reiatsu? That was a whole other story.

"This is… Amazing." Tosen commented, looking at his hands as if he'd just had them changed from paws.

Gin nodded quite enthusiastically. "Can say I'll definitely easily get used ta this." He agreed with an amused laugh.

Aizen turned his brown gaze to her and smiled. "Indeed. And thank you so much for all you help today, Lucy." He said, approaching her.

She smiled. "Oh, you're welcome." She said, adding a 'for all of it' in her head. She handed over the little orb to him again, watching as he encased it in its cage once again. "It is my pleasure." She said, doing an exaggerated curtsy.

She was not quite sure whether what she had just done was a good thing or not… After all, they had just gotten at least as strong as the Espada - if not stronger - from just that single thing.

One thing was for sure though. She had gained their trust.

….

"So I heard from Shawlong the Shinigami were by our gym with you today. What the hell is that all about?" Grimmjow asked as they both entered the room they'd decided to share since day one.

She couldn't help but smile just the tiniest bit. "Not so much Shinigami anymore, Grim." She said with her back to him as she loosened her whip from her waist.

"And what does that shit mean?" He asked, clearly already annoyed with how she didn't just get straight to the point. She had a feeling he already suspected what she meant though.

She turned to look at him, arms at her side. "The leaders of the Arrancar army are no longer of a different race, Grimmjow." She explained to him, hoping he'd catch the hint.

He looked at her with a drilling gaze. "Are you telling me those fucking bastards got the same fucking power-up in our gym today?" He asked her.

Knowing he was most definitely not ecstatic about the news, she nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you." She confirmed.

"And you made sure this shit fucking happened, didn't you?" He continued to ask.

She nodded again. "Yes, I helped them reach the status as Arrancars." She also confirmed.

"Are you a fucking idiot?!" He almost yelled at her. "That was the _only_ thing we fucking had on them, Kitten. Our fucking advantage; down the fucking drain, just like that. What the hell were you even thinking?!"

She just let him rant till he was done. "I know that it may seem that way-"

"It fucking _is_ that way!"

"But." She continued, glaring lightly at him so he would shut up. "Instead, we gained something much more valuable." She promised him, throwing the whip down by the bed, its usual spot.

He looked at her pointedly as he also dropped his zanpakuto down next to hers. "And what the hell could be even more valuable than a fucking advantage?" He asked.

She smiled. "Their trust, of course." She said, raising a brow in challenge.

"Fucking hell, Kitten." He grumbled, running a hand through his blue hair.

She laughed, crawling into the bed. "I know, I know."

….

 **So. Yeah. Aizen has a touching background-story. And Lucy seems to have a pretty… Well, sly side to her.**

 **Speaking of Aizen's story. It is not anything you will find in cannon - I made this all up. I haven't heard of anything like it, anyway.  
And the two friends' names; Hikari Kasumi and Koga Kaosu have their meanings as well - Light Dawn and Child Chaos. Freely translated. I feel that that kind of settles their characters. Hikari is a soft and caring girl, whereas Koga is a bit of a wild and impulsive kid. Make sense?**

 **And yeah, though it was a little drowned out by all this around the Shinigami powering up and Aizen actually having a soft heart, Lucy also got to catch up with Harribel and meet her Fracción as well. So that's nice as well. After all, Lucy really needs some girl-friends among all these guys (I didn't even realize it was all-guys before I actually wrote it out in the start of the chapter XD)**

 **Well, but hope you liked it! And as always, of course, thanks to those who have read, favorited, followed and commented! Once again, a thousand of thanks to all of you, it is only because of you this chapter came out today.**

 **~Line464d**


	12. Chapter 12 - Ichigo Kurosaki

**Chapter 12 - Ichigo Kurosaki**

 **So I most definitely believe you guys will be loving this chapter for one reason or another…**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: If I'd owned either Bleach and Fairy Tail, they'd probably be looking widely different - especially 'cause I don't draw that well **

* * *

"Fuck that." Grimmjow growled, not for the first time, as he and Lucy left the meeting room they'd just been in. It had just ended, and he obviously wasn't satisfied.

She sighed. "Could you at least wait till we get to our wing?" She asked him, looking around to make sure no one actually heard that. Not that she thought any of them would actually really care even if they did.

This only made his expression even more sour. "You're thinking the same fucking thing as I am, Kitten - that bullshit is fucking stupid." He shot back. When she remained silent for a little too long, he decided he had his answer. "I know you do."

She sighed once again, rubbing the side of her head. "Well, yes, I don't agree with their decision, obviously, but they probably have a plan. They wouldn't just leave things be like this." She reassured him.

The meeting they'd just attended was about Ichigo Kurosaki and what would be done about him now, since Ulquiorra and Yammy had returned.

* * *

 _Aizen smiled widely and spread his arms out to all of them inclusively. "Welcome, all of you." He greeted them loudly. Wonder what had him so hyped..? "As I a_ _m_ _sure you are all aware, Ulquiorra and Yammy have returned from their mission. And this is what_ _we will_ _be discussing today." He announced. When that had had enough time to sink in, he turned to the bat. "How about you simply show us what you saw, Ulquiorra?" He suggested._

 _Ulquiorra nodded silently in agreement. She watched as he reached up and quite literally grabbed his eye from where it should be more or less stuck to his skull. He easily and unflinchingly pulled it out of the socket, ignoring the blood which began welling out of it while holding the closed fist with the organ in it towards the middle of the table. "Solita Vista." He mumbled to himself, before crushing his eye in his own bare hand, much to her horror._

 _She was too baffled to even react as a light dust settled in the room all around them. Suddenly visions appeared in the millions of small particles._

 _In front of her was an orange-haired guy. And it wasn't just slightly ginger, it was as orange as a damn carrot. Under that was an angry look in a pair of brown eyes and on th_ _e face of th_ _e tall and somewhat built guy in front of her. He was wearing what looked to be the Shinigami's usual black and loose garb._

 _Though she was completely aware that the person in front of her was Ichigo, all she really felt was a strange sort of emptiness. Then she spoke. "You're the one they call Ichigo Kurosaki, I presume?" She stated in a deep voice which most definitely wasn't her own._

 _It was Ulquiorra's_ _._ _He was sharing the entire thing - feeling_ _s_ _and thoughts and all - with all in this room. Or so she had to guess, because all she could sense right now was his vision. Gradually, her sense of self disappeared, and she just became a spectator from Ulquiorra's view._

 _The human looked at the two of them suspiciously. Then nodded. "Yeah, that's me." He confirmed gruffly. "And I'm guessing you_ _two are some of Aizen's Arrancar, aren't you?" He asked them carefully, looking ready to grab the big sword on his back if the situation called for it._

 _Yammy - who was right next to her - slammed his fists together. "Damn right we are!" He grinned. "And the strongest kind too. Must be an honor for you." He jokingly replied._

 _The human only narrowed his eyes even further at them, even more tense now. "What the hell do you two bastards want here?" He asked them with a barely hidden growl._

 _She - or rather, Ulquiorra - faintly noted the oddity that was the lack of friends. Which they had been told they might want to stay wary of._

 _She then turned back to Ichigo, who looked far beyond impatient. "We are here to test you, human." She bluntly told the man in front of her, who now drew his oversized sword. She gestured to the big Arrancar next to her. "Yammy, if you would, please." She asked of the other Espada._

 _Yammy looked overly excited about the half order. "Oh yes, I would." He replied, none of them diverting their attention from the human in front of them._

 _She could feel how Yammy quickly kick-started the reiatsu in him and let it spin around, ready to be used. Kind of like an engine. He then sonido'ed forward, slamming his heavy fist_ _d_ _own on Ichigo's zanpakuto - which the human had only barely managed to pull up and block with in time. Had he been a little slower, he would have been a bloody mess on the ground._

 _With a forceful push of strength and a quick step back, Ichigo got out of the position he'd been locked in. He slashed the sword to the side and glared at Yammy, though he said nothing. He didn't wait for the big Arrancar to make the first move, he jumped forward in a burst of speed and slashed the sword down Yammy's arm._

 _Meanwhile, Yammy didn't even care to dodge or block it or anything_ _. H_ _e simply watched uncaringly as the otherwise sharp sword was brought down on his bare skin. It barely even forced out a single droplet of blood._

 _While Ichigo looked absolutely flabbergasted at the pathetic cut he'd made, Yammy simply picked the human up from the collar of his shirt. When he was up at Yammy's eye-height, the Arrancar grinned widely, before flicking him off with the help of his apparently overwhelming reiatsu._

 _The human was sent off flying some distance, before landing on the ground in a small crater, blood oozing down from under his orange, spiky hair. He looked utterly defeated._

 _Yammy looked down at the human with a scowl when he realized the guy likely wouldn't be getting up again. "Well. That was a damn disappointment." He grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his body. "I really hope for the sake of himself that those friends of his are stronger than whatever this pathetic shit was."_

 _She couldn't do anything but agree. Alas, she nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is true." On the other hand, if this was the strongest they could offer and this human_ _h_ _ad defeated a captain, then taking over the Soul Society wouldn't be an issue to even be considered._

 _A spike of reiatsu brought their attention back to the human. He'd gotten on his feet again, supporting his weight on the sword he now used as a cane. "Don't you even fucking_ think _about touching my friends." He warned them, looking ominously at them through his orange bangs._

 _This brought a smile back on Yammy's face. "Oh, look. The human isn't done yet." He laughed, before squaring himself off against his risen opponent once again. "Can't promise you anything if you can't beat me, human." Yammy continued to taunt said human._

 _Ichigo gritted his teeth and glared at the Arrancar. "All right. If that's the game you want to play…" He muttered, pulling the sword up from the ground with a forceful pull, never breaking eye-contact with his opponent. "Bankai." He barely even managed to say before being consumed and covered by his own flaring reiatsu._

 _But. While it may look epic, it wasn't. I was more so showing off what miniscule amounts of reiatsu he had, than it was a promise of power. It was… Disappointing, as Yammy put it._

 _The human charged right ahead, barely after having finished his transformation -_ _which consisted of_ _a long, flayed coat and a much smaller, thin, black sword. Intimidating as it was supposed to be, it only managed to draw a little more blood than before._

 _That said, was he able to stall out and deliver a multitude of those hits, he might be able to defeat Yammy as he was now. However that would require Yammy to stay still. And he most definitely wouldn't do that._

 _Yammy struck out after the human, but said human ducked under the fist and ran underneath it, dragging his sword across the enemy's skin._

 _Apparently, he hadn't foreseen the kick Yammy sent his way. It slammed right into his stomach, sending him rolling painfully on the ground._

 _She watched silently, almost uncaringly, as Yammy approached the downed human, who was fighting to get up again. And it was with a sadistic look and while cracking his knuckles._

 _He stopped up right next to the struggling human, puffed his chest up and raised his big foot threateningly above the human. "Nighty-night, human." He sang amusedly, an evil grin on his face as he sent his foot down on the guy mercilessly._

 _So that was the end of that. He wouldn't die, but he would not be standing the next long time either._

 _She turned around and was about to leave, when a female voice cut in. "It really would be nice if you asses would leave my cute, little student alone." She said, sounding somewhat strained._

 _Lucy refocused her attention to where the voice was coming from - underneath Yammy's foot. With a burst of reiatsu, Yammy lost his balance and fell back, revealing the woman underneath. She was a dark-skinned lady with purple hair and a wide, challenging grin on her face._

 _Lucy could feel that this woman was strong, just from the way she carried herself. Much stronger than_ _t_ _he human, who was apparently her 'student'. And she_ _was_ _not a human - she was most definitely a Shinigami, no matter how much she tried to hide it under her orange clothes and lack of swords._

" _Who are you?" Yammy asked, getting back up on his feet again and crossing his arms in front of himself._

 _She smiled. "That cute, little guy's teacher, weren't you listening?." She replied, nodding to the human, who seemed to have lost both his bankai and consciousness now backup had arrived. "And the one who's going to kick your ass." She grinned even wider._

 _The next moment, she was gone. She appeared, smirking, right before Yammy's face, and then delivered a quick but powerful kick, which had him stumbling back before he could react at all._

 _This was more or less repeated again and again in a flurry of speed and kicks, before a final dropkick right at the top of his head made him fall to the ground. He was unable to fight, completely overwhelmed by her speed._

 _The woman turned to Lucy, her smirk still in place. "You wanna try too?" She asked provokingly, her hands resting at her hips calmly._

 _Lucy considered her options. She could likely defeat this woman without much trouble as she was of the fast sort as well and could keep up with her speed. However, she saw no reason to do that._

 _She shook her head. "No, that will not be necessary." She replied, approaching the fallen Arrancar. They had already completed their mission, there was no need to continue staying here. "We will take ou_ _r_ _leave now." She announced, before dragging Yammy into the portal she'd created - the garganta - which led to Hueco Mundo._

 _In a flash the vision disappeared right in front of her as all the dust returned to Ulquiorra's hand again. Well, that was a freaky experience. She shook her head lightly to clear it all out of her head._

 _Despite the current lack of strength, her worst fear had actually been proven with this. Ichigo would likely go to any lengths for the sake of his friends. And said friends likely weren't much different either. And if there were more like that woman training him, his power would skyrocket before long._ _Thi_ _s was really troublesome._

 _She looked up when Aizen spoke. "I wasn't aware he had gotten his bankai already.." He mumbled to himself primarily. "And I believe that was Yoruichi, was it not?" He asked the two other previous Shinigami next to him._

 _Gin nodded. "Yeah, think that's 'er." He confirmed, his creepy smile not as wide as usual. For them to know that woman… Who was she?_

 _Aizen exhaled deeply, then looked at all of them. "We have t_ _w_ _o options here." He told them, holding up a single finger. "We can let him and his friends be - as of now, they are not truly a threat to us. He cannot have more than two or three of that woman's caliber as allies. And I know that had you been prepared, you would most certainly not_ _have f_ _all_ _en_ _to her, Yammy." He explained._

 _Lucy looked at him with a light frown. That would be underestimating Ichigo and those unknown friends of his. They had no idea what they could do or what they all might learn, if they all trained under any of those 'two or three at that woman's caliber'. How strong would they really get?_

 _Aizen lifted a second finger, silencing her thoughts. "Or we can make sure to completely exclude him and his friends from the war, thinking that they may be a potential threat." He said, letting his eyes sweep past everyone, likely to try_ _t_ _o gauge their reactions. "Of course, we don't know how to do this yet. It will be difficult, but with some hard work and time, we should be able to figure it out." He explained, once again looking around. "So, doing it the old-fashioned way, a_ _ll_ _in favor of simply leaving them alone, raise your hands."_

 _She kept hers down, and saw that Grimmjow did too. Probably due to her own insistence and the stories he'd heard of Natsu's explosive growth, even without a trainer. And these two were undoubtedly the same types of people._

 _But they were pretty much the only ones who hadn't raised their hands - the two pacifists, Harribel and Tosen, were the only other two who hadn't either. Everyone else had their hands in the air._

 _Barragan was the first to speak. "Those humans won't be any threat to us at all. It would be stupid to use too much time and energy on that, when it could be spent so much more productively_ _. To train_ _our soldiers, for example." He argued._

 _Grimmjow looked at the Arrancar with furrowed eyebrows. "No. What's fucking stupid is underestimating someone we don't know shit about. That woman easily beat up an_ _Espada_ _for fuck's sake." He shot back._

 _Yammy drew attention to himself by crossing his arms and leaning back with a huff. "I was already off-balance when she came. Had I been prepared or even drawn my zanpakuto, then she would've been dead." He argued. "I had a bad day."_

 _Grimmjow snorted at him. "So what? You think that's all that woman can do, then? Do you really think she showed off everything she_ _is capable of_ _back there? And if she's a goddamn Shinigami, then she's also got a fucking zanpakuto lying around somewhere. But she didn't even use that shit, so who knows how strong she is?" He asked, getting angrier and angrier with every word. "And you know what? Maybe that human had a 'bad day' too." He finished off._

 _She couldn't keep down a smile. He just said everything she'd had in mind, basically._

 _Szayel looked at Grimmjow with a raised brow. "What is this? Is the 'great' Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez afraid of a mere human?" He asked._

 _Grimmjow growled lowly. "No, I'm not fucking afraid of that shithead. I just don't want to see what some human, who could grow a fucking bankai in a single damn month, will be able to do in another one." He replied. Well, it'd probably been some over a month already, but same thing._

 _Seeing he was about to go on with his rant, she reached down an tapped his shoulder. "The numbers have spoken already, Grim…" She reminded him. There wasn't much more they could do here at this point. Hopefully she might be able to make some changes if she got those three alone at some point soon._

 _Aizen had been sitting silently, watching. With this, he finally stepped up and gained their attention again. "I am sorry that not all of you seem to agree on this, however the decision has been made." He said, silencing the room entirely. "We will not be taking any precautionary actions towards Ichigo Kurosaki and any friends he may have."_

* * *

She sighed as the memory of the meeting fluttered through her mind.

Grimmjow snorted. "Yeah, right. Unless you can somehow convince them to, they really won't do shit about that guy." He replied with a grim expression.

She nodded. "That's exactly what I'm going to do." She reassured him. That said, she had no doubt they had a plan with it all. It would be incredibly stupid if they didn't, because that Yoruichi-woman really was incredibly strong - they'd all felt it through Ulquiorra's technique.

Grimmjow grunted disbelievingly. "Good luck with that shit." He said as he put his hands into his pockets, basically ending the conversation.

She sighed inwardly, knowing she would probably need it. Something told her that it wouldn't be all the simple now they'd already announced that it was a decision to everyone.

Well, she wasn't conceited enough to believe she could change it all the way around, but she could probably find a middle-road. One where they wouldn't put all forces in on making sure he was kept out of the war, but just making sure he was tapped in on once in a while or something.

It wasn't too much to ask for, right?

She hadn't noticed they'd reached their own wing already before Grimmjow suddenly kicked the door in angrily, surprising all of them in there.

"How did the meeting go?" Shawlong asked. The question they all probably wanted answered, though they already had a pretty good idea of how it was.

"Like shit." Grimmjow grumbled, kicking the door closed again.

She looked at him exasperatedly. "If you have to be destructive, can you at least be destructive inside the gym instead?" She asked him. At least the things in there were actually made to be destroyed.

He grumbled something in his irritation, then nodded. "Sure, whatever." He relented, sticking his hands in his pockets again, before walking straight across the room, towards the gym. Moment later, the crash of that door was also heard twice in a row, as it was opened and closed.

"That bad?" Di Roy asked, though it should be obvious by now. He'd paused whatever game he was playing in favor of following the conversation.

She nodded and rubbed her forehead. "Apparently. Didn't quite agree on the decision that was made." She sighed as she plopped down on the couch next to him and Yylfordt.

"This meeting was about that human… Ichigo, was it?" Shawlong asked, urging her to elaborate the topic.

She nodded. "Yeah, it was about him. It was basically proven back there he is a carbon-copy of Natsu, so… And it was decided we'd do absolutely nothing about him, as he is still too weak to really be a threat. For now." She summed up.

"They won't do _anything_ about him? Like, at all?" Yylfordt asked, looking confused. She nodded in confirmation. "But why?! There's never ever been any humans like him, so why would they ever be so totally careless? It doesn't sound very smart to me." He argued.

She nodded, agreeing completely with him. "I know. I'm going to be talking to them about it and see if I can't at least convince them to keep tabs on him. Just once in a while." She said.

"That sounds rational. You should be able to convince them of that, I am sure." Shawlong nodded to himself. She smiled at him in thanks. Some trust was always nice to know you had.

They all remained silent for a short moment, simply listening to all the havoc Grimmjow was creating in the adjacent room. Which seemed to only increase as well.

That was until Di Roy decided to speak up again. "So what'd you do if you actually had to fight that guy?" He asked, a slightly worried look on his face. A tense, silent curiosity emanated from the others in the room.

She sighed. Damn it all. Why was he so sharp? She fell back in the couch, dropping her head to the backrest and closing her eyes. Not that it even helped her relax the slightest. "I don't know." She answered honestly. She really, really didn't. The tension didn't leave at all, and no one said anything in this now very, very uncomfortable silence.

A gigantic explosion was heard from the other room. Many times bigger than any of the others. "Fuck!" Grimmjow growled loudly from in there.

She breathed out in relief, thanking him from the welcome distraction. "I'll go and see what he's doing in there." She announced, almost jumping out of the couch as she escaped the awkward situation. The others probably felt the same as she did right now, if she had to guess. She went to the room and found Grimmjow cussing to himself on the other side. "What's going on?" She asked.

He looked to her, momentarily surprised by her sudden appearance. "Nothing. Just being destructive in here instead of in there." He told her gruffly, not about to elaborate on that.

She closed the door behind her and stepped closer. "A little more agitated than planned?" She asked, looking pointedly at the crater in the ground behind him. It'd go back to usual soon enough, but it wasn't something you did just like that. He simply growled a little under his breath, but didn't really answer her question. "It can't just be because of Aizen's decision that you're this pissed." She stated, urging him to explain what was going on with him.

He shook his head. "It isn't." He confirmed. Again, he didn't reveal any more than that.

It seemed she'd have to go fishing a bit for this. "So what is it then?" She asked, getting curious. And worried. She had no idea what was getting him this mad. He didn't say anything, simply crossed his arms as he stared into her eyes with a strange look on his face. "Did something else happen…? Is there something you haven't told me yet..?" She slowly asked him.

"No!" He finally yelled, whatever'd been holding him back now gone. "Nothing fucking happened! It's because you keep defending that shithead!" He yelled at her.

She looked at him confusedly. "Who?" She asked, frowning at his accusation. "What are you even talking about?"

"That fucking Shinigami-bastard! Oh, right, no. I forgot. He isn't even a fucking Shinigami any longer. Because of YOU! What the hell were you thinking?!" He continued.

She was flabbergasted. Both at his very sudden outburst, but also at the person he was referring to. "Aizen? Is that who you're talking about?" She asked, trying to keep calm. But her fuse was short, and she didn't like being accused of things she didn't really do.

"Yes. Who the fuck else would I be talking about?!" Grimmjow kept shouting at her, spreading his arms out as if that should've been obvious.

She glared at him. "What would you have wanted me to do? Just say no to do that and lose whatever trust I've built up?" She asked. She thought he'd understood that when she'd told him back there. "I had to do it - if I didn't, he'd just have someone else do it."

He growled at her. "Someone with a lot less fucking reiatsu and _magic_ , yeah. For fuck's sake, Lucy. What if they'd discovered that? What the fuck do you think would have happened?!"

She crossed her arms. "They didn't." She told him. "And if they did, I don't think anything special would have happened. It'd just be more power to the army." She told him.

Grimmjow sighed loudly. "There you go fucking defending them. AGAIN."

"No, I didn't." She argued, glaring at him angrily.

"Yes, you fucking did!" He stepped closer, poking a finger into her forehead angrily. "And let me tell you what would have fucking happened if they found that shit out, since you apparently can't figure it out yourself. He'd have that fucking narcissistic scientist run all kinds of mad experiments on you to extract your fucking magic. He'd torture you. He'd torture me. He'd torture the five out, fucking there." He pointed to the other side of the wall, where the five Fracción were likely listening to this conversation. "And he'd torture your cute, little friends from your world. All to get you to obey whatever he might tell you to fucking do!" He yelled, forcing her to step back. "He'd do literally ANYthing to get your fucking magic into all of his fucking soldiers, you understand that? And then he'd go and collect all the little fairies you so love and do the same fucking thing to them. Is that what you want?!" He asked, just as her back hit the wall. Everything he just said, she saw happening in her mind. And it wrung her heart painfully.

She looked at him with slightly widened, glazed eyes. "N-no, I don't, but…" She trailed off, her strength not in her trembling voice right now.

"But what?" He asked demandingly, not giving her any chances to get out of this.

She breathed in lightly. "But Aizen wouldn't do something like that." She said. With that story of his… Why would he cause any more of things like that? He may seem so coldhearted at a first glance, but that was only because he didn't let it show that he actually wasn't.

She flinched in fright when the wall right next to her head exploded into hundreds of small pieces. "You did it a-fucking-gain! Get your head out of your fucking ass and see the monster for who he fucking really is!" Grimmjow growled, his fist planted in the wall. Right next to her head.

She glared at him, anger rising as yet another accusation flew out of his mouth. "Of course I would fucking defend him when you go spewing bullshit like he's a monster! You don't know a fucking thing about him, Grim!" She shouted right back at him.

"Neither do you. No one fucking knows who the hell that asshole is!" He shot back.

"I know more than you might think, Grimmjow." She snarled. "How do you even know he's the monster you say he is?"

"You just can't see it because he's got you wrapped all around his fucking little-finger, Kitten." He growled right into her face. "I don't know what the fuck he is telling you whenever you're in there with him, but he's fucking good at it. And you're too blind to even notice a single fucking thing going on."

She felt her magic respond to her anger inside her by spinning around wildly, looking for a chance to break free and sucker-punch this asshole right in the fucking nose. How dare he say that?

"Shit! You're even more with him than you are with us at this point, goddammit!" He growled, shaking in his frustration. "It's like you're turning into one of his fucking fangirls."

She snarled under her breath, glaring defiantly and insanely hurtfully up at him. "And so fucking what? Why the fuck would you even care?" She asked him, her voice deadly calm, despite the inferno of emotions inside of her. "If I'm so much of a bother to you, why don't you just fucking throw me out of here for good?"

The arm planted in the wall lost all the tension in it, letting him just a little further into her already very much cramped personal space. "You can't even figure that out?" He asked, once again sounding like it was supposed to be obvious.

She would have crossed her arms if she could. But there quite literally wasn't enough space between them for her to do even that. "If I could, why the hell would I be asking?"

Instead of the reply she had been expecting from him, he stood contemplatively and just stared into her eyes for a moment. Then he grunted in irritation.

* * *

How was it possible to be so fucking oblivious and so fucking smart at the same fucking time? Had it not been her, he'd have given up on this shit before he had even begun.

He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against and shifted away from her just a bit. "You're fucking impossible." He growled. She just glared at him even harder and crossed her arms in front of her. "You won't even listen to a single thing I'll say, will you?" He asked rhetorically. He knew the answer already. She'd say she would, but really, she was already too blinded by whatever that asshole'd done.

"Not when you wrongly accuse people of things they haven't done, no." She confirmed, her eyes squinted as she looked up at him.

He wanted to blow something up. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything they haven't done, Kitten. Just look at yourself! You're the fucking proof what I'm saying is the damn truth!" He raised his voice. "You just won't listen to fucking reason anymore! You're just too caught up in whatever fantasy you're living in to see it."

"You know what?" She said, her anger clearly at a breaking point. "I'm tired of listening to this bullshit." She announced, walking towards the door in a straight line. "I'm not going to listen to anymore of it."

He watched her silently for a moment. "And where will you go, then?"

"Somewhere that's not here. With you." She replied through clenched teeth.

Ignoring the unfamiliar stinging pain that brought along, he only stared even more pointedly at her. "That's not an answer, Kitten." He reminded her. Something he actually rarely had the chance to.

She stopped up. He watched as her shoulders pulled up and trembled. She only turned her head slightly, not looking at him. Then she mumbled something he honestly just couldn't hear.

"What was that?" He had to ask.

She then whipped around, glaring at him with wet eyes. "I don't know, Grim! I have nowhere else to fucking go than here. So I don't know!" She yelled at him, her arms more so thrown around herself than crossed in front of her. She turned away again, facing the door. "But. I'll have to, I guess, since you're basically kicking me out…"

"No one's kicking you out, Kitten." He told her, his anger rising again. "Who the hell is making strange accusations now?"

"Then what the hell are you doing right now?" She asked angrily.

"I'm trying to fucking keep you around here as long as damn possible." He told her. It should've been obvious already, but apparently it wasn't.

She remained silent for a long, uncomfortable while. "So… You still want me around?" She asked him in barely a whisper.

But he heard her just fine this time. "Of course I fucking do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be telling you all this shit." He told her. Once again one of those things which should've been obvious.

"I see." She muttered, and was then silent.

Any further conversation as cut off by a sharp knock on the door. "If the two of you are done fighting in there, then I'm afraid to say Lucy's been called down to the Shinigami or whatever the hell they are now." Di Roy called through the door, clever enough to not just come bursting through it and into possible carnage. "Fast as possible too." He added, before the sound of his footsteps revealed he had left.

Still, Lucy didn't even turn to him. "I have to go." She told him firmly.

He sighed and nodded. He knew as much. "Yeah, I know that." He said, turning away to one of the dummies in the room, seeing a certain former Shinigami's face there. One he really wanted to crush right now. "Just don't hang on to every single word that bastard spouts." He warned her.

She left without saying a word, the door closing behind her.

* * *

She wasn't quite sure what had prompted her to ask that question at the end. She'd just.. Suddenly gotten unsure. Unsure whether he actually wanted to bother with her at all, since she was apparently doing so many things wrong. And he just exploded on her like that… It was really painful.

He was being extremely unfair towards Aizen too, who really had been nothing but kind to her so far. He may not be perfect - not that anyone was - but he most definitely wasn't a 'monster', as Grimmjow had called him.

He was right about one thing though. She might have been a little careless with hiding her magic, though she hadn't really used it. Even if those three wouldn't do anything, if someone like Szayel himself had found out, he probably actually would have done all those things. So. She still had to watch out. Use at least double as much reiatsu as magic whenever she used it. Generally she should just avoid it though.

Maybe it was also about time she got something done with Gin. She had to figure something out about him. It's not like she wanted to kill him or anything - she wasn't a killer - she just… Wanted to watch out for him. Surely he recognized her. And he probably was already making up some bad plans, knowing what he did.

So. Keeping watch of him and his creepy smile should also be part of her to-do list.

It didn't take her long to reach those three's corner. She waved sweetly to Loly and Menoly, who simply scowled back and waved her inside.

Alas, she stepped into the room with one more person than she was used to. Aizen turned to look just as she entered and sent her a smile. "Ah, Lucy. Good timing. Szayelaporro was just about to introduce his inventions." He said and waved her closer.

She approached and looked down at the devices laid out on the table, which separated herself and the three former Shinigami from Szayel himself, who was looking down at them proudly. In a little glass-cage seemed to be some sort of.. Bug? And it looked alive. And next to it were a few pole-looking things about a meter in length. A third invention looked like a little, white ball.

She looked curiously from them and up to Szayel, wondering what these three things could do. When Aizen gestured for him to do so, he pushed his glasses up, and gestured towards the little bug. "This is the first of my creations. I call it the 'Rokureichu'. It is capable of gaining exceedingly detailed information on whoever it may land on. Right from what form they may be in, their abilities, their amount of reiryoku and even down to analyzing individual cells, should that ever be necessary." He introduced it.

"How's it work?" Gin asked, looking from the pinkette, down to the bug and back again.

Szayel smiled a little. "Well, it is easier to simply show you, if you don't mind." He said, sounding ecstatic about the idea already. Meanwhile, Lucy blanched. Shit. That could get troublesome. Really, fucking troublesome. The kind of troublesome Grimmjow had _just_ warned her against. "It is in no way dangerous for whomever it is used on, it simply gathers information." He said.

"Yeah, sure. Why don'cha just use it on me then? Got nothin' ta hide." Gin said with an even wider smile. Lucy breathed out in relief internally. Goddammit. That could have been a real problem.

"Of course." Szayel picked up the bug, let it out of its cage and gave it the command to fly to Gin. It flew directly to Gin and sat on his bare arm. Now, she couldn't be sure, since she wasn't standing right next to him and watching it all, but she was pretty sure the thing actually stuck some kind of needle into Gin's arm. It then flew back and seemed to sting Szayel in the arm as well. "Ah, I see. Let us keep it simple for now. Your zanpakuto's name is Shinso. Both of its shikai and bankai abilities are widely similar - this being the extension and retraction of the blade with a tremendous force behind it. In its shikai state, it is capable of extending to a hundred times its original length. However, in its bankai state, the length, the speed at which it grows, its cutting power and the force behind it are amplified vastly. It can extend up to thirteen kilometers at 500 times the speed of sound. This is exactly 171.500 meters per second. Alas, it will reach its full length at point zero eight seconds, making it the fastest zanpakuto. Quite a powerful technique." He admitted at the end.

Gin laughed. "Well, that's impressive. Correct through and through." He said with his ever-present smile. She just looked at the white-haired guy, flabbergasted. Well, holy shit. No one would have time to react to that, even if they knew it was coming. And that bug - the rokureichu? - that was incredibly powerful as well.

"I have to agree, it is quite a handy invention." Aizen agreed easily. "And I take it that was not all of the information you gathered?"

Szayel shook his head. "No, I know everything about what Gin is capable of now. His habits in fighting and whatever weaknesses he may have. Unfortunately, I cannot gather information on either feelings or thoughts as of yet. And I haven't put a limiter on it either, as I don't see it as necessary." He added, not even looking apologetic in the slightest.

Aizen nodded. "Indeed, there would be no reason for that." He agreed. "A truly frightening weapon, really."

"How do you deploy it?" She asked curiously.

Szayel looked to her a little surprised, as if he'd completely forgotten she was in here as well. Or maybe he'd just thought she was here to stand around, looking pretty. Well, his luck was out if that was the case.

He answered either way. "It is programmed to respond to the voice closest by. Has it been set on a mission, it locks itself there and does not accept any other orders. That way, even if an enemy discovers how it works, they will be unable to take advantage of it as easily." He explained.

She nodded in understanding. "Well, that's pretty well done." She relented. No use denying it - it was awesome.

"However, that is not all." Szayel announced, letting the little thing back into its case and put it down, instead picking one of the poles up. "This is a - so far unnamed - power control device, which works along with the rokureichu's mechanisms. If given the command to send the information to the power control, this device will completely nullify any abilities which may be linked with the information it is given within a range of 1 kilometer." He explained. "The thought is to plant these around in the castle, thus allowing for as much coverage as possible." He said as he put it down again. "So far, it can only block the abilities of the person it is given information on, not every person with the same abilities - like, say, shikai. I am working on that, however." He explained

"Any special procedures we are to go through to activate these?" Tosen questioned.

Szayel shook his head, before remembering Tosen was blind. A common mistake, she made it too once in a while. "No, it simply needs to be turned on and then placed. I will do the turning on right when they are produced though, as it only responds to my reiatsu, so this is not to be worried about." He explained.

"That's actually a really good mechanism in case we should be invaded or have a traitor." She said thoughtfully. "You can easily shut them down to the point of them not being able to deliver any damage." She continued. Well that was useful knowledge indeed. "Does it 'forget' the person after a while, or would you have to command it to forget it, if it is to be forgotten?" She asked curiously.

This time he didn't look as surprised by her speaking. "It will store the information forever, unless you turn it off by command." He confirmed for her. She nodded. Well, that was interesting.

Aizen nodded. "Defensively, this is a really strong weapon as well. I commend you, Szayelaporro." He said with a little smile. "As soon as you have them ready, we will have them deployed around Las Noches."

Szayel nodded, looking proudly down at the both the two inventions. "I believe these two are the best masterpieces I have ever made as well. I have no doubt it will serve its purpose well." He said confidently. "Alas, this might not be as exciting." He said, gesturing to the little, white ball. "These are simply illusion devices. It can make an illusion of anyone, however at this point only as a hologram. I am still working on it being able to make a tangible illusion, which and make it 'alive', so that it may work as a clone, of sorts." He explained.

"Oh, there's no reason ta downplay somethin' like that. It can be powerful an' very useful ta trick yer opponents mid-battle an' stuff like that." Gin said.

Szayel nodded. "I am aware of that. Not many are capable of using it though, as it would take a certain level of intelligence and strategic knowledge to be able to use it properly during battle." He elaborated. Ah, how nice it would be to have that kind of confidence in yourself.

Aizen nodded again, looking genuinely impressed by the things in front of him. "Very well done, Szayelaporro. I have no doubt we will be able to use all of these efficiently in the future." He said.

Szayel smiled widely. "If you have any questions, just come by. I'll likely be in the middle of development, so just ask my Fracción for directions." He said as he gathered his creations up and left the room promptly.

She watched the door as it closed behind him. "How long has he had to make all these? A pair of weeks?" She asked.

"Yes, that was when we announced it." Tosen confirmed for her. "I do have the idea he has been inventing for a long time though, as his laboratory is not a new part of his wing."

"Oh… That makes sense." She said, turning back to the three. "While it was nice to be introduced to, this isn't the real reason you called me over here though, was it?" She then asked, fully turning to all three.

"Ah, no. It wasn't, indeed." He confirmed for her. "It was clear you and Grimmjow weren't quite satisfied with the decision made regarding Ichigo. Harribel and Tosen are not much of a surprise, however I especially wouldn't have pegged Grimmjow as the type who would worry about things like those he presented during the meeting." He said.

She smiled. "Yeah.. That might have been my influence." She said with a little laugh as she tried to figure out what the hell she was supposed to tell these guys. "Do you remember the time I warned you of those who grow in battle?" She asked them, to which she got three nods. Time to fire off some half bullshit... "I probably didn't explain it properly enough, but there are two types, as far as I have seen, within those, who grow in battle. There are those, who quite literally get stronger the more they fight - Grimmjow, for example, is of this type - and then, there is those who grow exponentially when they are defeated." She told them, pausing for a moment before continuing. "The battle we saw Ichigo in was a little too short to really determine if he is of the first sort, but it wouldn't surprise me if he is of the second. They are quite closely connected, really." She said.

"So what you are trying to say is that the Ichigo of yesterday, the one in the vision, is not the same as the one we would meet, if we go to see him now?" Aizen asked for elaboration.

"Well, it probably won't be that quick, but yeah. That's the concept." She confirmed. "After a defeat, he will be so determined to not lose another time that he will grow at an insane rate." She explained.

"What do ya suggest we do, then?" Gin asked, looking like he didn't believe a word of what she was telling him.

She crossed her arms in front of her. "It's not like I expect you to put all your time and energy into researching him or to try to completely lock him out of the war - because that will be impossible." She reassured them. "All I ask is that we keep tabs on him - just once in a while." She told them. It wasn't impossible, she knew it wasn't. It only required a single person with some delicacy. That was all. That wouldn't be impossible in the slightest. As a matter of fact, she knew it was quite possible. "Taking no precaution at all towards someone like him, who has never been recorded in the history of the Shinigami, is not a good idea."

Aizen looked at her for a long, hard moment, then relented and nodded. "We will see what we can do." He said. She smiled and nodded as well, happy she could at least do this. "Then I believe it is time for us to talk about what we will be doing now." He said, changing the topic once again.

They didn't get the chance to get much farther, as suddenly, Loly crashed right through the door, looking absolutely horrid and out of breath. Which was impressive, seeing as she was supposed to be standing guard right outside their doors.

She looked to Aizen with a wild expression in her eyes. "Sorry for the intrusion, Aizen-sama, but I have a very important message for you." She said urgently. She was basically running where she stood in her impatience.

Aizen nodded calmly and gestured for her to elaborate. "Please tell us, Loly." He asked of her. Despite not being the best of bodyguards, those two had never disrupted what had been going on in here ever since she'd been part of this. So it really must be important for her to just come crashing through.

"Of course, Aizen-sama." She started off, taking a deep breath to calm herself before saying what she had on mind. "It has been discovered that Grimmjow and his Fracción - except Heartfilia over there - have left Las Noches." She told him, a serious expression on her face.

Gin looked unimpressed. "Ain't they all just out huntin'? Ya know. What they're supposed ta do." He asked.

Well, yeah, they might have been. Except they would have told her if they went and did that. What in the hell was going on with him today?

Loly shook her head so fast her pigtails whipped around in the air with her. "No, it would not seem so, sir. They have not been spotted anywhere near Las Noches or even leaving the wing at all. The guards patrolling there would have noticed them if they all left just like that." She quickly explained, one word falling over the other as fast as she was speaking.

Aizen turned to Lucy, light confusion and irritation etched on his face. "Did you know about this?" He asked.

She shook her head with a frown. "No, I have no idea what is going on or where he is." She said, desperation rising in her voice.

Aizen turned to Loly again. "And you are certain he is nowhere to be seen within Hueco Mundo?" He asked the girl, who shook her head as quickly as she had before. He sighed. "There is only one way they could possibly escape their wing without being noticed by the guards. And that is through the garganta." He concluded with a sigh.

As that fact settled in her mind, she got an insane urge to smack her palm against her forehead. "Fuck." She knew where he was.

* * *

 **So, it's not like it's that hard to figure out - I'd like to believe - but where do you guys think Grimmjow and the other five went?**

 **Grim and Lucy had an argument in the gym as well… So that brought some food for thoughts on the table, huh?**

 **And yes, we saw a few different other things as well. Ulquiorra's pretty handy technique, which's translation isn't all that exciting (Solita Vista - Accustomed View in Spanish), mention of the Garganta, which actually has an interesting translation (Throat in Spanish and Black Cavity in Japanese. See a gif of it and this will make** **perfect** **sense). And then, of course, Szayel's inventions. I'm ashamed to say that I have not delved into the colorful world of my imagination and figured these out on my own, they were all already made from cannon. May have added my own ideas for their appearances and gone a little deeper into what they can do and how they do it, but overall, I did not create these. So what can you do? - They were awesome.**

 **Overall, despite everything, I really hope you all enjoyed it! So, thanks for reading, commenting, following and favoriting! All of it keeps me going one way or another.**

 **~Line464d**


	13. Chapter 13 - Losses

**Chapter 13 - Loses**

 _ **IMPORTANT MESSAGE**_ **\- All right, guys. So. For those of your who're keeping up with the updates as I post this - you may have noticed I updated the previous chapter as well. I really highly suggest you go back and read at the very least the gym-scene, as I have made some big edits, which I believe seem more realistic given the situation. So yeah, for the sake of understanding what I might write in the future, please do go back to read it!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Please read and review!  
Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima and Tite Kubo own Fairy Tail and Bleach respectively. But hope you enjoy my crossover still!**

* * *

Grimmjow easily caught the big sword, which was swung down at him, with his bare hands. The sharp edge of it honestly just felt blunt to him. "Ya know, carrot-top, if you want to even have the slightest chance at beating me, you'll have to put a lot more heart into it than this." He told the human with a grin. While it was true he was here to finish and end some business leftovers from the bat and the big idiot, it didn't mean he couldn't have his fun with it.

Surprised by the fact that Grimmjow had so easily caught it, the human could only sort of gape. Grimmjow wanted to roll his eyes. That human hadn't been able to inflict any real damage on Yammy in his unreleased state, so he'd literally have to be stupid to believe the outcome would be much different now the number was lower. Idiot.

Especially because all the backup he'd brought in was also preoccupied now.

The tiny, black-haired girl lying on the ground in a bloody mess brought the carrot out of his trance. "Ichigo… Your… Bankai!" She whisper-yelled at him. Right. Grimmjow had forgotten about her for a moment there. Oh well. He'd already beat her, so she wouldn't be any threat with the state she was in right now.

The human jumped back through, once again focused on the battle instead of what little was going on in his head. "Right. Thanks Rukia." He called out to the slain Shinigami. "Prepare to go down, Arrancar!" He growled as the reiatsu whirled around him in the same way it'd done in the bat's memory.

Grimmjow sighed. "Espada. Not just any Arrancar; Espada." He corrected the carrot. Even for someone like him, that should be easy enough to understand.

"Bankai." The human said, having undergone the exact same, underwhelming transformations as last. It wouldn't help him at all this time either. And, completely ignoring Grimmjow's comment, he rushed forward with his now jet-black sword.

Grimmjow easily dodged his blows - he didn't even have to get his hands up from his pockets either. Having dodged four of these jabs, he figured enough was enough. So, with a spin for extra show, he planted a kick right at the fake Shinigami's chest. For a moment, he seemed to just sort of hang in the air, but then he flew off at incredible speeds into a tree, which just so happened to be in his path.

The Espada casually approached the human, who slid down on the ground. "That's not enough, carrot-top." He told him, stopping right in front of the guy. "Haven't you got anymore in you or should I just kill you now?" He asked. No matter what, that was going to be the end result. That was why all of them had even come here in the first place.

The human barely looked up at him through his orange hair. He didn't move to answer or anything even remotely like that.

"Well. Guess that answers that." Grimmjow declared, pointing his finger at the human in front of him as he charged his reiatsu in it. "Say your goodbyes, trash." He growled as the crimson red energy gathered in a ball in front of his fingertips. Well, that was one less problem to worry about for all of them. "Cero."

"No! Santen Kesshun!" Yet another, slightly familiar, female voice called out. Moments later, barely in the nick of time, an orange, triangular barrier appeared in front of the carrot. The beam of reiatsu crashed right into it and was deflected off into a strange direction.

Grimmjow growled and turned to the one who'd done this shit. Yet another fucking carrot-top human. Female, this time. What was this guy - building a harem with all these goddamn girls?

"If you wanted to go first, woman, then all you had to do was tell me." He said, letting his anger show in the way his reiatsu flared around him. No more fucking distractions.

The girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he slowly approached. It was not even going to be any fun breaking her thin neck.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" The carrot-top yelled at the Espada, springing to his feet. Grimmjow looked over to see him accumulating a considerable amount of reiatsu in the sword he was now holding above his head. He didn't look like he was going to take a single step forward though. "Getsuga Tensho!" He yelled fiercely and swung his reiatsu-charged sword down.

A giant wave of reiatsu came charging right at Grimmjow and hit him right across the chest before he had the time to neither block nor dodge. The force it crashed into him with had him stumbling back. It disappeared into the thin air right after having hit him, giving him the chance to look down at the stinging pain it'd brought to his chest. A dark, red line had appeared all the way down vertically.

He growled under his breath. "Damn it all, this shit's gonna scar." He said, glaring at the bloody mess with irritation. Though, at the same time, he was elated to know the guy actually had a few tricks up his sleeve. He then turned his angry scowl to the human. "You're gonna pay for this fucking shit, human." He snarled, reaching down to the zanpakuto at his hip.

That was when a sudden hand on his arm and a presence next to him prevented him from it. "Cease this immediately, Sexta." Tosen told him harshly, a cold anger in his whole demeanor.

Grimmjow growled under his breath. "Fuck." Had this blind bastard been just a bit slower that fucking human would've been dead and he'd gladly go with this guy back and take whatever punishment he'd be given.

Tosen continued as if they weren't surrounded by enemies left and right. "You have disobeyed Aizen's direct orders not to take any action against this human. You must return immediately and accept the punishment given to you." He ordered the Arrancar.

Grimmjow didn't take his eyes off the human, who was now being supported by the other human to could stand up. "Just let me kill these bitches, then I'd love to go back with you." He replied sarcastically.

"I cannot let you do that." Tosen replied. "And I would also advice against it, seeing how severely outnumbered you presently are." He added.

The strange addition prompted Grimmjow to do a quick pesquisa over the area. There weren't any more enemies than before - if you didn't count Tosen - but that wasn't what had him cursing out loud.

Out of the six they were when they left, only one was left. Him.

You must return immediately." Tosen repeated, opening a garganta right behind them, which swallowed them both up before Grimmjow could actually managed to jump forward and kill the damn human as they had planned to.

Fuck it all. Completely failed mission. How did he not notice the others had fucking fallen? How didn't he notice their reiatsu disappearing completely? Fuck! He hadn't even been able to do what they'd set out to do and they'd all died in the fucking process. He was so fucking stupid.

Lucy would him apart. Piece for piece. And hang him on the wall like a trophy.

Fuck.. Big argument and now this.. She would never forgive him for doing this goddamn useless shit. He couldn't even forgive himself, dammit.

The garganta spit them out on one of the billions of fucking identical hallways of Las Noches. Except this one had a big door at the end of it. The Shinigami quarters.

He could feel Gin and Aizen's reiatsu on the other side. And to his horror, Lucy's pissed one as well. He was going to die.

He reluctantly stayed behind Tosen as the Shinigami knocked on that door. For the first time in his afterlife, he wanted nothing more than to run the hell away.

But then, if he did that, it would leave her in the manipulative hands of that damn bastard. He'd just have to eat this bullet.

The door opened up, revealing Aizen on the other side. "Oh, Tosen. Great work." He complimented the other former Shinigami. His eyes then turned to Grimmjow with a deadly calmness. "Was it a pleasant trip to Earth, Grimmjow?" He asked with fake innocence.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. "Not really." He grunted in reply. Probably the understatement of the year, really. That 'trip' was far from pleasant. It was a failure.

"A shame." 'Because it'll be the last one you get' silently followed those words. Aizen then stepped aside, allowing the two to come into the room. "Please come in."

Grimmjow slowly followed them in, ignoring the pit of dread which spread in him as the door was closed behind him. He really did _not_ want to be here right now…

Aizen calmly sat down in the couch in that room, next to where Lucy was standing with her hands on her hips. Grimmjow didn't look her in the eyes, not wanting to see what he'd find there. And more so what she could find in his.

"So." Aizen said, once again drawing attention to himself. "I believe you owe us an explanation, Grimmjow." He said, urging the Espada to explain himself.

There were two reasons for what he did, but one would suffice. The other one he couldn't quite explain. "Ichigo is a threat to us." He stated, pointing to his regenerating chest, which no longer bled as much as it did before. He had evolved since the battle with Yammy, even. Far enough to could do this. The wound on his chest was the proof. "He should be eliminated as soon as possible."

From the corner of his vision, he could see Lucy shifting where she stood, but kept his attention solely on Aizen. "So you went and attempted to eliminate him yourself, then?" Aizen asked for clarification. Grimmjow nodded - this much was obvious even to 5-year-olds. "I see. I take it you didn't succeed either?" He then asked, as if knowing he was rubbing salt into a wound.

Grimmjow gritted his teeth and gave a single, angry nod. "No, I didn't." He confirmed. The bastard just had to do shit like that, just because he could.

"And you brought your Fracción with you as well, did you not?" A knowing look spread on the guy's face, when Grimmjow began glaring at him.

"Yes, I did." He confirmed as well, knowing where this was going. He could see from here how hard the guy was struggling not to smile.

"And - if you don't mind me asking - where are your Fracción now?" Aizen continued to ask relentlessly. Not that he wouldn't have asked that question even if he had minded it.

Grimmjow only barely managed to not growl out loud He kept his gaze locked on the former Shinigami, who was currently looking so smug it jabbed at his nerves. "They aren't here." He growled out, knowing the Shinigami was entirely aware of that fact already.

This made Lucy cross her arms and speak up. "Then where the hell are they, Grim?" She asked, having clearly not caught on to what he really meant.

He carefully looked to her unsurprisingly stormy, brown eyes. "Kitten… They died." He slowly told her. An unsettling look took hold of her face. "We arrived in that town the human lives in, but it turned out they'd gotten a bunch of Shinigami backup. So we split up and-"

He was cut off as a stringing pain exploded from his cheek, hitting him with such force his head was forced the other way and he wasn't sure if he'd gotten a concussion.

"You fucking asshole!" She yelled right into his ear, standing right in front of him now. She shook her right hand as the bright redness seemed to fade slowly. "How the fuck could you just do something like that without telling me anything about it?!" She yelled at him. Before he even had the chance to give her any sort of reply, she'd already rushed right ahead. "No, that's not even important here. How did you let _all_ of them die just like that?!" She asked, tears building in her eyes already. Something they rarely did.

He sighed and looked at her. He had no reasoning which could ever make up for what happened. He was too absorbed with fighting that human to even notice. To notice that some of the only people who'd been close enough to be called friends died all around him. He was too self-centered.

Her eyes flickered from one of his to the other, searching for the reasoning that wasn't there. She pressed her lips together when she accepted there wouldn't be any reply from him. "You're so fucking unbelievable." She told him, blinking furiously in an effort to keep the liquid manifestation of her emotions at bay. She gave a last, defeated sigh before starting to move past him. "I can't believe you let this happen, knowing how important they were to me." She muttered shakily as she went past him. A moment later, the door slammed closed, leaving the room in complete silence.

Gin was the first to break it. "Ya, know, 'Grim', if ya don' watch out, ya mightn't have any Fracción left." He slowly told the Espada, neither his smile nor the usual humor in his voice to be spotted anywhere.

Despite the somewhat unusual look for the former Shinigami, Grimmjow sent an angry glare his way. He was not up for their damn games right now. "Mind your own fucking business." He warned the other guy, who raised his hands in mock surrender.

Aizen cut in before anything drastic could happen. "All right, I believe we need to figure out what your punishment will be, Grimmjow." He said out loud.

"Is there much to discuss? He is a traitor - he should be executed." Tosen stated. Grimmjow'd never liked that guy, he always seemed to have a stick stuck up in his ass. This only proved the dislike was deserved and mutual.

"He isn't exactly a traitor, Tosen. He did what he did because he believed that to be the way to go for our plan to succeed." Aizen reasoned. Grimmjow resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah, sure, you just go and believe that, bastard. "He didn't do it with any ill intentions." Other than that of murder, no.

"Will you simply let every disobedience slide so long as it is supposed to be been for the greater good, then?" Tosen asked, his arms crossed.

"I am not letting his actions slide, Tosen." Aizen said, then disregarded the conversation as he looked to Grimmjow again. "Your punishment is that you will be stripped of your rank as an Espada." He announced.

Grimmjow stared at him, dumbfounded. What the hell? He couldn't just do that! That rank was determined by the amount of reiryoku they had. They couldn't just take that away from him just like that. What was this bullshit?

"And his dominant arm." Tosen piped in - just for good measure. Grimmjow glared at him. Goddamn bastards. All of them.

"Yes. Your dominant arm will be stripped from you as well." He agreed, clearly liking the idea Tosen presented.

Grimmjow growled, reaching for his sword. "You can't just do this shit!" He growled at the bastards.

"Actually.. I can." Aizen corrected him, then turned to Tosen. "Tosen, please do alert the rest of the Espada that there is to be held a meeting as soon as at all possible. If they haven't shown up within 20 minutes, it will be held without them." Tosen nodded and slipped out of the door. Aizen then turned to Gin, still ignoring the now infuriated Espada in the room. "Gin, please find Luppi Antenor and tell him of the current situation and that he will be reinstated as the sexta, if he wants to. Once you've found him, help Tosen get a hold of the Espada." He ordered, getting yet another nod. "Oh, and if you can, try to see if you can find Lucy and offer her to come as well. Though… I expect it'll be a no at this point."

Gin nodded again. "Sure, I'll do that." He said, before leaving the room.

Aizen slowly turned his gaze to Grimmjow, who was even more tense and pissed than he'd been before and with a hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sword. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He simply told the blue-haired Arrancar.

Grimmjow growled, tightening his grip on the zanpakuto. "And why the hell not?" If he just went and killed Aizen now, it'd also make a lot of things easier.

"Because." He said, rising from his seat. "If you do that, I would no longer have any reasons for keeping you alive." He explained.

"Like I give a shit." Grimmjow shot back.

Aizen eyed him somewhat amusedly. "Then I would have to kill you. And where does that leave our dear, little Lucy?" He asked, a smirk slowly growing on his face. "I promise I'll take good care of her in your absence."

Grimmjow growled even deeper, pulling the sword up enough to reveal a part of the shiny blade. "All the more reason to fucking kill you now."

"Oh, yeah, of course. If you were strong enough, that is." The former Shinigami said. "Even if you were though, do you really think she'd appreciate you killing yet another person close to her after what happened?" He asked, sounding almost innocent. "She's such a sweet and caring girl, after all. Very rare around here."

"Don't you dare fucking touch a single hair on her head, asshole!" He warned the guy, letting the reiatsu flare up around him.

Aizen only smiled wider. "Oh, don't you worry. Her hair is not what I am touching." He said.

No, he was messing with her fucking mind. That was what the damn bastard was touching. "Just leave her the fuck out of this, you goddamn ass-wipe of a Shinigami."

"It's already too late for that, I'm afraid." Aizen said with a slight shrug. "She's already too involved to could get out just like that."

"Why are you even keeping her around at all? What makes her so important to you?" Grimmjow asked. Questions he really wanted the answers to.

"If I answer that, will you drop your sword and just go to the meeting room and accept your punishment?" He asked him.

Did he really have a choice either way? Even if he did manage to kill this asshole, a billion of his damn fangirls and boys would just come running at him like the mad dogs they were. Then they'd likely beat and kill him and where the hell would that leave Lucy? She'd either be killed too for having conspired with him - even if she hadn't - or somehow manage to barely scratch by however she could.

And maybe that was exactly the opportunity which'd have Nnoitora come running. Disgusting fucking freak.

Title and arm or not he would still survive this shit.

He growled under his breath and let go of the zanpakuto, letting it slide back into its sheath. "Whatever. Just tell me, you fucking bastard." He ordered the other guy.

Aizen smiled a satisfied smile, which annoyed Grimmjow to no end. "Good. It's simple, really. I keep her around because being able to control her, means I can control you. Control you from doing things like what you tried today, which would throw a big wrench in my plans." He plainly told him. "That can't surprise you, did it?" He asked.

Fucking bastard. There was way more to it than that shit. That definitely wasn't the only reason. It was too plain and too obvious.

Aizen clapped his hands together and straightened up a bit. "Now then, I believe it is time for us to head to that meeting room."

* * *

Lucy almost ran down the long hallway, clenching her teeth together as she fought the whirling emotions inside her from showing on the outside. Let her feet carry her wherever they wanted to - just away from that room and that person.

She just couldn't believe it. It was too unreal. She couldn't believe they were really… Gone. That she would never get the chance to see them or talk to all of them again.

And they had left off at such a tense note as well… She couldn't get the chance to apologize for not explaining all that was really going on. They knew it, but she should've voiced it herself. They shouldn't have had to figure it out themselves.

The fact that she was so shaken by the striking resemblance between Ichigo and Natsu. Her former best friend and the one she had loved so, so dearly.

She was a horrible friend. Or maybe they'd been more like a family after all? Dysfunctional, sure. But it had always felt safe to come back to the wing after a harsh day. It had always been so fun and relaxing. What she imagined it'd be like having a bunch of brothers.

And she would never get to experience that again.

Never play chess against Shawlong and spar with their minds. Never have the chance to have those odd girl-talks with Yylfordt. Never mess around and tease Di Roy when he was absorbed in his games. Never have Edard spend his time on teaching her to properly care for a sword - despite the fact she didn't have one. Never try to work a word out of the ever-silent Nakeem.

Who would she test her knowledge against if not Shawlong? Sure, Aizen was smart as well, but he was different. He was too… Sly about the way he did things. And most importantly, he wasn't Shawlong.

Who would she have the girl-talks with if not Yylfordt? She might have a chance to actually have some girl-talks with Harribel and her Fracción, but come on. They didn't have the humor and the impulsive, odd comments that Yylfordt did.

Who would she tease to no end and get pissed when they teased back if not Di Roy? Grimmjow, maybe. But he wasn't so tiny that she could constantly tease him about his height and he wouldn't tease back the way Di Roy always did.

Who would she have to teach her to refine her sword-techniques if not Edard? She could likely ask anyone with a sword-based zanpakuto. But they wouldn't add in the notes about how to fight honorably and that the sword was simply an extension of one's own body like Edard did.

Who would she have to poke and jab at to get a single word out of them if not Nakeem? No one. She could think of no one who was so entirely dedicated to not speaking as Nakeem was.

Who would she have to help her through the long days if not them?

She didn't give a damn where she was, she turned her back to the nearest wall and let herself drop to the floor, curling up on herself where she was. Utterly alone.

She would never see any of them again. Never see that scene where they all had been in that room of their wing, doing each of their things and welcoming her in with open arms.

Despite knowing the place she was in, she still took it all for granted. Thought that she could keep it forever. Forgot that they could die at any point in this war, which was about to break loose.

And now she had lost it.

You never know what you have until you have lost it. Once again, she had to be taught the meaning of that saying and how heavy and painful it could really be.

Twice now.

Twice, she had lost the people she loved and cared for like the closest of friends. Like that of a true family. People who had fought alongside her at every turn and had saved her more times than she could count. People who had helped her get stronger and overcome any obstacle in front of her.

Twice, she had to lose this. To understand what life was without it. To understand how it isn't a given.

Some may say she hadn't lost everything yet, as she had the other time. She still had Grimmjow. But did he really even care about anything anymore? He said he did, but then he went and let all of them die. Just like that.

Did she really still have him at all? Had she even had him to begin with? Had he ever truly been there? He had saved her in battles and listened to her rants and crazy emotions, sure. But… Had he really cared any of those times? How could she be sure of it?

She grabbed her hair by the roots and pulled lightly at it in her frustration. What did she even have left at this point? What was she fighting for?

She was more or less surrounded by people, who honestly probably didn't give a damn about who she was or whether she was alive or not. She wasn't even at all certain she could ever go to Earthland again and see everyone there either.

It had been so long since she had been there… Sometimes she couldn't even remember how the guild looked. How the people of Magnolia looked. And even worse, sometimes she couldn't even picture Team Natsu in her mind any more.

Slowly, they were all fading from her memory. And she had nothing to remind herself of them anymore either.

All she had was that faintly present feeling of Loke in her magic. And the number on her hand - the likeness of it to the symbol of Cancer.

She closed her eyes shut and focused on the magic inside her, letting the familiarity of it warm her freezing body. Maybe that was actually all she had left - her magic.

She could almost feel her ever-loyal Lion Spirit right there with her. Hugging her and reassuring her everything would be fine. She could feel his jacket, still with the lingering warmth from him blanketing her.

But then, she opened her eyes and he was gone. Instead, her skin was faintly glowing from the magic, which had stretched to cover all of her protectively. Almost as if it had a mind of its own. Almost as if it was Loke himself.

She couldn't prevent a whimper from escaping her as she tried to dry away the wetness, which suddenly covered her cheeks.

God… How she missed all of them.

"… Lucy, is that you?" A sudden voice asked.

For a second, Lucy froze completely. Then, from one instant to the next, the golden glow around her vanished as if it had never been there and she jolted to her feet, facing the person who'd spoken.

It was not quite who she would have expected it to be. "Harribel?" She asked, not even recognizing her own voice.

* * *

Harribel was surprised to see that the little ball of person on the floor had actually been Lucy, covered in a strange, golden glow.

Thinking back, however, she remembers having both seen and felt that energy, which she had followed to find her here. The first time she saw the woman - as an Adjuchas - she had also been doing something with this strange energy. So that was, in fact, not news to her. And she did not wish to pry.

However, the red eyes and the way the pseudo-Espada was desperately trying to hide all traces of the water, which seemed to have been on her cheeks, made the third Espada worry. From what she knew, this person did not easily cry.

"Are you all right, Lucy?" She asked her, approaching slowly. Whatever had made her cry like she was now most definitely had something to do with the reason they had been called to that urgent meeting. And from the looks of it, she probably was not going to it either.

Lucy looked up at her, a little surprised it seemed. "Yes, I'm…" She then trailed off, closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. "No, I'm actually not… Sorry you had to see me like this." She said, her voice beginning to tremble again.

Whatever had happened, it was quite serious.

Harribel approached the girl and gently placed her hand on her shoulder. "Do you wish to speak about it?" She asked her. Though she only had little time right now, she couldn't simply just leave her like this. "Come, we are not far from my wing. There is not much in the way of privacy here." She said.

Lucy nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you, Harribel. That would be nice." She admitted.

Harribel nodded as well and guided the girl along the hallways she had just walked, a hand on the other blonde's back. "I hope you do not mind my Fracción being present there as well." She said.

The smaller blonde shook her head. "No, it's quite fine." She reassured Harribel. "Everyone here'll know what happened soon enough…"

Harribel turned her gaze to the other woman. "I was called to a meeting just now.. Would it be about this as well?" She asked, quite sure she was right about this much at least.

The smaller blonde nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is." She confirmed, her gaze aimed stiffly at the floor. "It's… Grimmjow went to Earth to eliminate Ichigo without my knowledge… He brought the rest of his Fracción with him and…" She paused to breathe deeply and shakily, a way of steeling herself a little, it seemed. "He was the only one who returned. He didn't even manage to kill Ichigo either." She explained.

Ah, so that was what happened. "I see. I am sorry for your loss…" Harribel said, not sure what else she could say in this situation.

Lucy closed her eyes and nodded again. "Yes… I am too." She said, sounding both completely devoid of emotions and as if a myriad of them were whirling around in her at the same time.

Their conversation was interrupted when a yell sounded behind them. "Oi, ladies." Harribel turned to see Gin approaching them, Lucy didn't turn at all. "A meetin's about ta start. Ya've ta be there in 5 minutes or we'll hafta start without ya." He told them.

Harribel nodded. It was the same Tosen had told her just a moment ago. "I am aware. I will be sure to be there." She reassured the former Shinigami.

Gin then turned to Lucy, who was still staring at the floor. "How about it, Lucy? Are ya goin' ta join us as well?" He asked, seemingly a little gentler than he usually was. He was likely aware of the situation as well.

Lucy shook her head. "No… I will not be coming." She told him, her voice barely above a whisper. But they heard her just fine in this empty hallway. That was to be expected.

Gin nodded as well, having also expected this answer. "All right. Harribel, ya will hafta hurry if ya want ta make it in time." He warned her, then walked off towards the meeting.

Harribel turned to the pseudo-Espada. "Lucy, I will have to go now. You can go to my wing if you wish, I know my Fracción would gladly help you any way they can." She told the smaller blonde. Given that she had been out on the hallway like that, it seemed obvious she was not going to return to her own wing as it was right now.

Lucy tore her gaze away from the tiled floor and up to the other blonde, a little, dead smile on her lips. "Thank you, Harribel. I think I will do that." She said.

Harribel nodded. "Of course. I will return as soon as the meeting has ended." She promised the blonde. With that, she sent the other girl off, knowing she'd know the way, and went to the meeting room as well.

When she arrived, things were quite different from how they usually were. None had taken their usual seats, but were instead all standing upright, spread all around the room, to the left of the table.

She walked over to an empty spot near the entrance and looked to the three former Shinigami, who were standing together at her right. Strangely enough, a former Espada - Luppi Antenor - was here as well. She had a feeling she knew where this meeting was going.

In the middle of the room stood Grimmjow. He tried to keep a blank expression, but he was failing. He didn't want to let it show, but perhaps it was as hard a blow for him as it seemed to be for Lucy?

"All right. As it would seem we have all gathered, let us begin this. First of all, I am glad to see you all could make it despite the short notice." Aizen said, then turned his attention to Grimmjow, who stared right back at him. "We are all gathered here today because one of our own has gone against one of my direct orders." He said. And with the setup of this room, it was also clear who this was. "Grimmjow, would you like to explain yourself?"

A light growl escaped the Espada in the middle. His gaze didn't flicker from Aizen's at all as he spoke through gritted teeth. "I went and attempted to kill the human at Earth. Killing all but one of my Fracción - Lucy, who I didn't bring or tell - in the process. That do it for you?" He asked, looking more pissed than Harribel could remember having seen the guy.

Aizen nodded, his face remaining blank. "Yes, that is fine." He confirmed, and then looked to everyone else in the room. "As I stated the other day, Ichigo and his companions are not to be touched in any way or form, unless I have commanded so. Alas, this is not going to go unpunished." He said. "Normally, the punishment for an action like this would be execution. However, Grimmjow did this because he believed this to be for the good of our end-goal and he did not succeed in killing Ichigo Kurosaki." He explained. "Instead, we have settled on another punishment."

Tosen picked it up from there. "Grimmjow, you will be stripped of your title as an Espada and the arm with which you draw your sword." He declared as he approached the sexta Espada, making a few of the others gathered in the room mutter quietly to each other. "Let this serve as a reminder so you - and anyone else - will refrain from doing such acts again." He said, now right in front of him.

In a flash of movement, Tosen had drawn his sword and cut Grimmjow's arm off right below the shoulder. Liters of blood spouted out of the new wound, re-coloring the white clothes both he and Tosen were wearing. Harribel watched unflinchingly as his arm landed on the floor with a dead thump, a pool of blood spreading around it. It promptly burst into flames and turned to ashes.

"FUCK!" Grimmjow grunted loudly in pain, gripping the shoulder of his now half arm as he fell to his knees. On his back, a new number appeared next to the '6' which was already there. His new number was '68'.

The room was entirely silent for a long moment, the only sound being that of the blood smearing on the ground and Grimmjow grunting as he fought the pain. No one knew what to say in a situation like this.

Aizen finally spoke up. "As per this moment, Luppi Antenor will be reinstated as the Sexta Espada once again, so please welcome him back." He said, after which a strangle mumble spread in the room.

As Grimmjow slowly fought his way back to his feet, Nnoitora spoke up from where he was standing with his back against the wall. "So… What's gonna happen with Lucy. Since he's not an Espada any longer, she's not his Fracción." He commented.

Everyone in this room knew what the guy was thinking without even needing anything more said. He was open to get a new Fracción.

Grimmjow turned and sent the Espada an enraged glare. "I may not be an Espada, you fucking bastard, but she is still my Fracción. She will never be yours. If you ever try any disgusting shit, I will rip your throat out." He warned him, deathly serious. He was very obviously not in a very good mood today.

Nnoitora, not the least bit fazed by the former Espada's threats, simply raised an eyebrow. "As I said, you're not an Espada any longer. So you can't have Fracción." He repeated himself.

Power fueled by pure anger and hatred had Grimmjow sonido'ing to Nnoitora's side before the Quinto Espada realized what was happening. He grabbed the guy by the throat with his one good arm and put on a frightening amount of pressure. "I don't give a fuck what you think." He told the choking Espada furiously. "If she is not my Fracción, then I am hers. She's way more Espada than your sorry ass will ever be."

Aizen spoke up then. "Grimmjow, please release Nnoitora or you will not be allowed to leave this room alive." He warned the blue-haired guy. With a furious growl and a hard push, Grimmjow released the guy and stepped back, watching as the guy coughed air back into his lungs. "That said, on the matter of Lucy, it is correct to say she is more Espada than she is an ordinary Arrancar. Her situation is quite unique as well, so she is hard to place." He said thoughtfully.

Harribel stepped forward. "If nothing else is available, I would not mind accommodating both Lucy and Grimmjow." She volunteered. None of them were ordinary cases and therefore shouldn't simply stay with the ordinary Arrancar. They would not be comfortable there, she was sure. And she had more than enough space.

"Oh, what a coincidence. I was just about to offer they could stay with us as well. We have enough space to be sure." He said, then looked to Grimmjow. "Which do you think you would prefer?" He asked.

Grimmjow looked at him as if he was stupid. "Thanks for the 'kind' offer, Aizen, but we'll be staying with Harribel." He said, looking at her over his shoulder and added a grateful nod.

"All right, I believe this marks the end of this meeting." Aizen announced, looking around at everyone. "I hope you will all leave with new knowledge and something to think about. You are dismissed." He declared.

Everyone dispersed and went out, going back to their wings or whatever they had been doing before. Harribel approached Grimmjow, looking to his arm, which was now not bleeding as much as before, thanks to the power of regeneration. "You should go to the infirmary and have one of them give you a Hollow or two." She told him.

Grimmjow sighed and looked to his arm with an expression which revealed that it was still hurting. "I know, I was planning on going down there." He said. "Thanks for the help though." He added, looking away as if that was completely normal for him.

Though she knew he couldn't see it, she smiled a little. So he was really capable of gratitude and expressing it. "You are welcome." She replied and began walking towards the door again. "Lucy is already at my wing - I found her on one of the hallways earlier and invited her there." She informed him.

"Don't worry." He grunted behind her. "I'll stay away and let her find me if she wants anything." He reassured her gruffly.

She looked back at him over her shoulder, seeing him trying to hide the arm - or lack thereof - with the remains of his jacket, though it made absolutely no difference. "Of course." She replied, then left.

She could already hear the conversation her Fracción were having with the girl as soon as she entered her wing. "I just.. Don't know what to do anymore." She could hear Lucy tell the other three from one of the rooms.

"Can't say I know Grimmjow very well, but are you really sure he doesn't give a shit?" She heard Apacci ask for clarification, as tactless as ever.

"No, I'm not sure. At all. But.. At the same time, I don't have any proof either." Lucy replied, looking over as Harribel stepped inside the doors. "Oh… Hi Harribel."

Harribel gently closed the door behind her. The scene before her had Lucy in the middle of the golden couch with Franceska holding her in a sort of hug. Sung-Sun was sitting to the right, not entirely sure what to make of herself and Apacci was sitting in the opposite armchair.

She turned to face the four girls, who were all looking to her. "I do not believe you have any reason to doubt him, Lucy." She told the other blonde.

Lucy looked at her curiously. "What makes you say that?" She asked.

"It was clear from the meeting, in which his verdict was carried out, that he does care for you one way or another." She reassured the girl. That was the only thing about this situation she could be certain of. When the girls simply gave her looks to elaborate, she obeyed. "Nnoitora asked where you were supposed to be, now that you could not be Grimmjow's Fracción, as the rank as an Espada has been stripped from him. Grimmjow did not appreciate the implicit meaning with his comment." She promised the pseudo-Espada as she placed herself in the other armchair next to Apacci. That and then the fact that he was willing to stay away and let her find him also proved he did actually care one way or another.

"He.. Lost his rank as Espada?" She carefully asked the other blonde woman, who nodded. "Was that… All?" She then asked even more carefully.

Harribel gently shook her head. "I am afraid not." She told the girl. "His right arm was also taken from him." She revealed. Before she could ask, she also answered the blonde's next questions. "It seemed to be painful, but he should be all right." She reassured the girl.

Lucy nodded slowly, looking to the floor. "I see…" She muttered, a lost look on her face.

"So, for as long as you like, I have offered the both of you can stay here, as Luppi - the new sexta Espada - will be moving into your wing." She told the girls.

Sung-Sun looked flabbergasted. "Stay here? As in this wing? Our wing?" She asked, one question falling over the other. Harribel simply nodded.

"Oh. My. God. That's so awesome!" Apacci yelled as she sprang to her feet.

Franceska smiled and nodded as well. "Yeah, it's always nice with some new blood." She said with a grin and squeezed Lucy lightly, actually getting a little snort of a laughter out of her.

Lucy looked to Harribel and smiled a little smile. "Thank you, Harribel. We really appreciate your offer." She said, to which she got a nod. It was clear that, while she was happy, she was also sad. They could no longer live in their own wing, after all. She wiggled out of Franceska's hug and got on her feet. "I think I might need to talk with Grimmjow… Do you know where I can find him?" She asked.

"He went to the infirmary after the meeting. Unless he took the Hollow with him out, he should still be there." Harribel told the girl. Lucy nodded and immediately left the room to go search.

All four watched as the door closed behind her. The following silence remained until a smirk spread on Apacci's face and she leaned back in the chair she'd sat in before. "They've _so_ got the hots for each other." She said with certainty.

While Franceska broke out laughing, Sung-Sun looked at the short-haired Arrancar. "Could you not say such vulgar things in a situation like this one?" She asked, which only had the other two break out laughing even harder.

Harribel hadn't removed her gaze from the door Lucy had left through just a moment ago. She could not help the feeling that a storm was about to break loose soon.

* * *

 **Oooooh~ Wonder what Harribel has in mind, there.**

 **So yeah, decided to add a little bit of Harribel's point of view, just to change things up a bit. Hope you liked it all!**

 **True to cannon, Di Roy, Yylfordt, Edard, Shawlong and Nakeem have all died. I honestly really did not want to do this, because I've really come to care for these minor characters now. They were fun and so extreme in each of their ways. Or, well, my portrayal of them is anyway. They will be missed..**

 **Likewise will Grimmjow's arm and his rank. Again, true to cannon - somewhat at least. Obviously, I've made my own, small changes as it is no fun to simply write out what happened in the manga.**

 **And yeah. Finally, we also have a great deal of animosity between Aizen and Grimmjow. So there's that.**

 **I hope you enjoyed! And thanks a lot for reading, following, favoriting and - most certainly - commenting! It lets me know what you think, what I can do better and what I do just fine, so please continue doing as you do!**

 **~Line464d**


	14. Chapter 14 - Proposal

**Chapter 14 - Proposal**

 **Amazingly enough, I managed my time well again and actually got the chance to proofread it before it went out~**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and Fairy Tail. I know, surprising, isn't it?**

* * *

Lucy slowly made her way out the Tres Espada's wing. She needed just a little time to gather her thoughts after the things she'd been told and… Before seeing Grimmjow again.

She had doubted him. Still did. Even after what Harribel had told her. It was just a little difficult not to doubt everything right now.

Because what if Grimmjow was right? What if Aizen was just playing games with her? And what kind of games were they even?

But even more so.. What if it was actually Grimmjow - and not Aizen - who was playing with her? What if, after all this time, he finally had had enough of her? After all he had originally not planned to keep her around for any longer than necessary. That was probably way overdue already.

She sighed deeply and shook her head, making her golden curls bounce all around her. She shouldn't draw any conclusions from the state she was in. In all likelihood, he would also be quite upset right now with what happened.

She just couldn't shake the feeling of being all alone again.

It was unreasonable though, because as things looked, she'd at the very least have some sort of support from Harribel and her girls. Maybe it wasn't much, but it definitely beat being all alone.

Her thoughts returned to Grimmjow again. What would she even say to him when she found him? 'Hey Grim. I honestly don't trust you right now, but I just feel like we have to talk'? Yeah, that'd work out 'great'.

Could it really be true he defended her - even with the lack of arm - back there, though? Because if it was, it proved that either he was playing a really convincing game or he genuinely cared.

She hated to doubt him after all this time and all the shit they'd gone through together. She had trusted him with so many things - her secrets and her life, to name a few - it was hard to have to consider if all of it was fake.

She looked up suddenly when she saw movement from the edge of her peripheral. Had she really reached the infirmary already?

She brushed her surprise off and approached one of the Arrancar in there. "Sorry to disturb you, but have you seen Grimmjow around here?" She asked the other guy.

He looked her from head to toe with a cold gaze, then nodded after an uncomfortably long pause. "Yes. The former Sexta came by to pick up some Hollow earlier. He left with it immediately." He answered her almost monotonously.

She nodded. "Thanks." She said, but he'd already turned his back to her and returned to work. Well. That was sort of rude.

It didn't surprise her Grimmjow didn't stay around though. Rather, she had expected it to be like that. Maybe he was at their wing, picking something up or something?

Luckily, it wasn't all that far away at all. In short time, she was in front of the familiar door leading to the place she'd called her home for a long time now. She knocked on it, feeling it to be entirely wrong she had to do that.

It opened up to reveal a person, who looked both male and female, that she wasn't too sure she'd ever seen before. "What can I do for you?" They asked, clearly not in a great mood.

This had to be Luppi. "I'm really sorry for disturbing you, but I just wanted to hear if Grimmjow's been by here just now?" She asked them.

Luppi shook their head with a light glare of disdain. "No, he has not. You're Lucy - his only living Fracción - I presume?" They asked, an edge to their voice.

She narrowed her yes a little. "Yeah, that's me. Pleasure to meet you and sorry for the disturbance." She said with a sugary sweet voice, then turned around. After only a few steps, she stopped up and looked over her shoulder at them, right as they were closing the door again. "Oh, and Luppi?" She said, catching their attention again. "Don't go and get too comfortable in there." She warned him and then proceeded to walk away.

Hell would have to freeze over before she would give that place up without a fight. She had to figure out how they could get it back…

She closed her eyes and performed a quick pesquisa, looking for Grimmjow. She should've probably done that to begin with, but it was fine. Gave her some time to kill her nerves.

She quickly found his reiryoku, seemingly sitting on the roof of Las Noches, near the entrance. Alas, she went there at a fast pace, appearing outside in a matter of minutes.

As they had practiced till they could do it in their sleep, she easily created stepping stones of reiatsu in the thin air for her to get up to the former Espada.

She still had absolutely no idea what she should tell him, but she would just have to improvise at this point.

She quickly got up and saw him sitting further down, staring out at the vast desert of Hueco Mundo. Seemingly completely lost in thought.

She slowly approached, but only spoke when she realized he hadn't even noticed her at all. "Hey, Grim." She simply said, stopping up with a little distance between them.

This finally made him look up, a little surprised. "Oh. Ki-Lucy." He corrected himself. It wasn't the first time he'd used her real name. But the other times, he had been pissed or teasing her for some reason. Now it seemed to draw a wedge between them.

Though he was trying to hide it, she could see his amputated arm on the other side of him. "Are you… Okay?" She asked him, a little worried despite everything.

He looked down at the arm as if he hadn't even remembered it wasn't there. "Yeah, it's fine. Just got some Hollow, so it's no problem." He reassured her, not looking her in the eye. He was lying. It obviously hurt like a bitch and a half.

She sighed and sat down next to him. "I won't lie to you, Grim. I haven't forgiven you for what happened." She told him directly, knowing he hated when things were sugarcoated anyway.

He still only looked ahead. "I don't expect you to." He admitted harshly, hate, anger and sorrow swirling in his voice.

"But." She said, letting him know she hadn't been done. "I _am_ sorry." She told him, smiling just a little as she looked out at the empty desert that was their world. She could see him turn his head to her and figured she'd have to elaborate. "I… Might have overreacted back there. And I should've been at that meeting earlier too." She said.

"No. I'm glad you weren't." He said, making her turn to face him. His jaw was clenched harshly and his gaze was firm. "I'm glad you didn't see that shit." He added, then turned away again. "And your reaction isn't much different from what I expected. It's what I deserve." He added.

He didn't want her there because he didn't want her to see it. To see him being weak, she was sure.

She sighed lightly, looking up at the many stars in the sky. "I'll miss them…" She told him, her voice low and thick with emotion as she drew her knees up to her chest.

She saw him looking up as well, as if they'd joined the many stars up there. "Yeah…" He agreed slowly, letting a heavy silence fall down around them as a blanket.

She wasn't sure if she should actually be yelling at the guy right now, but the mood just didn't feel right for that. He definitely regretted it as well - she could see that much at least. There was no reason for her to go and explode right now.

"It won't make what happened better, but it was Di Roy's idea. And I'm sorry we didn't tell you." He told her, his eyes hadn't left the sky either. "What happened, though… That was probably my fault." She waited for him to continue, knowing there was more to it. Of course, her patience also paid off. "I shouldn't have underestimated the humans or their backup. I should've known it wouldn't be that easy - that's the exact thing I told those idiots at that fucking meeting. I should have made sure to keep watch of everyone so they hadn't died. It's my fault this shit happened." He ranted.

She couldn't exactly deny it. They shouldn't have underestimated them. They should've known it wouldn't be easy. And Grimmjow should've kept tabs on them. And they should've told her.

But there was one thing he got wrong. "It's not your fault alone, Grim." She told him, more so feeling his eyes on her than seeing it. "You all share the blame on this." She added.

He grunted. "Maybe, but there's only one left to take it." He said cynically, running his hand through his blue hair.

She remained silent. She couldn't counter that. And if they continued like this, he'd have to make up more excuses for why he was to blame. Losing the rank as Espada and an arm was punishment enough.

"Why didn't you tell me you guys would do that?" She eventually asked him, her chin resting on her knees as she looked over at him. "I would have joined you, you know." She told him.

"I know you would. But that would've defeated the point of us going there at all. Besides, it was a last-minute decision. You were with the Shinigami when it was decided." He told her.

She frowned. "No matter whether I was with you or not, it would still be eliminating a threat." She tried to argue, not understanding why it would make a difference whether she was there or not.

"Oh, all of that was just a bonus. It wasn't why we went." He told her, almost sounding amused as he said it.

"What?" She asked, surprised. What other reason had them going than that? "Why did you go there, then?" She asked him, her mind whirling to figure out why they would've gone if it wasn't for that reason.

"Because you were being obvious." He said, then looked over at her from the corner of his eyes. "Obviously, you won't be able to take that human on at all, or even face him, so the plan was that we'd make sure that wouldn't even be a possibility. Didn't exactly go after plan though." He said bitterly.

She looked at him, her eyes widened and her mouth agape as she attempted to formulate some kinds of words. It was in vain though, as only a single thought spun around in her otherwise empty mind.

They had done that - gone against Aizen's orders and lost their lives - just for her. So that… She wouldn't have to face Ichigo. Wouldn't have to face Natsu. Just as she knew they all had confirmed last time she spoke to them. When Di Roy asked that question. They knew it would be impossible for her to fight people with such a strong resemblance to her most loved ones.

She blinked furiously - she had already cried way too much recently. Not knowing what else she could do, she placed her hand over his, smiling a sad, but touched, smile to him. The best she could manage at this point. "Thank you, Grim. I really appreciate it." She told him earnestly.

And she really meant it. She knew he didn't like to show what he felt on the sleeve much. But he had still done that earlier against Nnoitora, at the meeting she didn't attend.

This though… this truly proved to her that he and the others most definitely cared. She was in no way alone, even in this place.

She hadn't noticed her fingers had slipped between his until his also curled around hers. "Yeah…" Was all he replied, as both of them looked down at their intertwined hands.

He had done something to save and spare her - once again - and, though it didn't succeed, she owed him a lot. It was about time she paid him back.

* * *

She looked determinedly at the two guards in front of the Shinigami quarters. "Loly, Menoly. I need to talk to Aizen, let me in." She told them, not wavering the slightest bit as she looked at the both of them.

Loly glared right back at her, her hands on her hips. "Look, Heartfilia, I know you think you're special, but you can't just come barging like this and demand to see Aizen- _sama_." She told her, emphasizing the suffix the girl always had told the blonde to use.

Menoly looked equally displeased with the blonde's presence. "Yeah. You have to do as usual and as everyone else does - wait for him to have the time to see you." She chirped in.

Lucy glared alternately at them both. "It's important. I have to talk to him." She repeated. She was about to make an offer he just couldn't deny.

Loly seemed even more pissed. "Yes, we all know Grimmjow's not an Espada anymore. Go bitch about it somewhere else." She hissed.

Lucy's eyes were barely anything more than slits as she attempted to contain her anger. "You two should be more careful with what you say. At any point in time, I can remind your precious Aizen-'sama' that the two of you are nothing more than obsessed teenage girls. Watch your mouths." She warned them, not in the mood to play their games right now.

"You wouldn't do that." Menoly more so questioned than stated. The hard look from Lucy proved that would be no problem at all.

The door opened behind the two fangirls, making them freeze completely. "It's all right. Please let Lucy in, you two." Their idol spoke right behind them. They shuffled to move away from the entrance allowing her passage. She looked at the both of them with a pointedly raised brow as she passed them. She went in and turned as Aizen closed the door behind her again. "I figured you would come by sooner or later." He revealed calmly, passing her on his way to the couch.

It seemed the other two former Shinigami were busy, but that was fine. Aizen was obviously the one making the decisions in this place.

"Then you should also know why I'm here." She stated, approaching him with crossed arms and a stern look.

He nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Of course. You are not satisfied with the verdict. Unfortunately, I am not able to restore the arm as it is now." He told her, looking like he thought he'd had everything figured out.

He didn't.

She couldn't help the slightly cocky smile. "I'm actually quite fine with the verdict. He needed to understand that wasn't okay." She told him. That, and - though it would take a few years - the arm would regenerate again. With plenty Hollows, it might be even less.

"Oh? Well that's surprising." He commented thoughtfully.

"That said." She said, bringing his attention back to the present before it even left. "I am still going to try getting his rank back." She honestly told him. There was absolutely no reason to beat around the bush with this guy.

Aizen raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "Do you have a reason as to why I should do this, then?" he asked her.

This was do or die, really. Either he would see the advantages to her proposal and agree to it or he would flat-out reject it. And she had absolutely no idea which it would be.

"I have a proposal, yes." She confirmed, taking a deep breath to organize her thoughts. "I offer to go to Earth, meet Ichigo and his allies and deliver a much more detailed report of what is going on." She curtly told him.

He looked at her, actually surprised it seemed. "It is an interesting idea." He admitted. "But I am afraid I do not see why that is even necessary." He told her just as bluntly.

Right, she had expected this much. "Because those people actually managed to kill five of our own and injure Grimmjow pretty deeply. They are much stronger than we initially anticipated - we should not underestimate them." She explained, fighting to not the let stings to her heart show on the outside. "We honestly don't know anything about any of them and it would seem Ichigo also still had some tricks up his sleeve." That much was made obvious with the big scar running across Grimmjow's torso. "Besides, if I stand in their midst, it will be impossible for me to not know at least bits and pieces of what their plans for action are." She added.

He stared at her for a long while with his sharp, brown eyes. "Why you and not someone else?" He then asked. "Why should I not just send any of our soldiers to do this instead, so that, should he or she be exposed, it would be a minimal loss?"

She nodded. It was a good question. "Exactly because I am not just any of you soldiers. You should know me well enough at this point to know that the results I deliver will not be half-assed in any way. I am sharper than most and am confident I can conform to the situation I would be placed in. And, should I still be discovered, I am more than capable enough to take care of myself." She told him, pausing for a moment as she thought about it. "That, and the remnants of my mask, my number and my hollow-hole are easily disguised. I don't have the overwhelming presence and reiatsu-output that most Arrancar here do." She finished off. That, and if she didn't do it, she couldn't very well demand Grimmjow's rank back.

He sighed deeply as he got up from the couch he'd sat down in just moment ago. He hummed in thought with his back to her, but didn't say a word.

With a long enough pause, she continued. "The information I can provide after a week there will be the kind you won't be able to get anywhere else. With it, it won't be much of a problem to take very effective counter-measures against anything they might come up with." She argued.

He nodded slowly, still not looking at her. "Yes, it does have its perks…" He trailed off, then turned around. "But there are a few safety-precautions we will have to take if I can allow you to do this." He told her seriously.

She nodded, really trying her best not to smile. It was basically in the bag already. "Of course, they won't be a problem, whatever they are." She promised him confidently.

His expression didn't change the slightest. "I have two conditions that must be met if I am to allow you to do this." He said, getting only a nod from her to continue in reply. "One is that I will have Ulquiorra watch over you as often as possible while you're there. This way, we can make sure you will not do something, which will actively work against our plans." He said.

She nodded again. "That's fair." She agreed. He would never know what she did there, after all, if Ulquiorra wasn't there. For all he knew, she might be revealing everything she knew to these guys. She didn't particularly mind this precaution.

He gave a single nod. "Good. Because the second, you will not like." He told her, pausing unnecessarily long, which only got her unnecessarily worried over the comment. Or maybe it was actually for the best she worried. "I will have to ask you to give up the part of your reiryoku, which belongs to your Hollow side, leaving you only with the Shinigami portion you received through the hogyoku. This will put you at the level of an ordinary spirit. It will be done with one of Szayelaporro's latest inventions, the 'Reverse Hogyoku', I think he called it." He said.

She looked at him with a little frown. She would have to give up some of her reiryoku? But then what should she do if she was attacked…? She really didn't have a lot of Shinigami reiryoku as it was now.

Noticing her frown, he answered a question she hadn't even thought to ask. "You will have it back again afterwards, of course." He reassured her.

While that was reassuring, she was still not sure she liked the idea. "What is this invention of Szayelaporro's? It doesn't sound like any of those he introduced last time." She asked, worried.

"Ah, it is one which will temporarily pull out any traces of your Hollow side. Alas, you remnants, hole, that part of your reiryoku and, in this case, also your number, will be stored away in either the invention or an object of our choosing - I am thinking your zanpakuto. Everything will be returned to you at the end of the mission." He clarified. Seeing her still being confused, he elaborated even further. "I am afraid it is necessary that this will be done. If not they will immediately discover your true identity." He told her.

She sighed, knowing he was right. The reiatsu of a Hollow felt widely different from that of a Shinigami or an ordinary spirit. It was much darker. She knew that. "All right. I will do it.." She agreed reluctantly. She would get it back - all of it - in a week. Only a week. That was all. "So. When do I leave?" She asked

Aizen shook his head. "I am glad you agree to everything so far, however there is more to it still." He told her, almost as if he felt bad for her.

She looked at him, her eyes widened. There was even more to it? Wasn't having Ulquiorra watch her and everything that made her a Hollow and her strength taken away from her enough for him? There was really more?

He continued despite her undoubtedly dumbfounded expression. "We will also have to remove our memories of ever being a Hollow and Arrancar." He revealed.

Her head went completely blank at that. "My… Memories?" She could only unintelligently ask.

He nodded, frowning slightly as he locked his arms behind his back. "Yes. Every memory you have got since having died." He confirmed.

She stared at him, her eyes wide in confusion. "But… Why?" She managed to ask. Why was that necessary?"

"Because if you keep them, you will inevitably slip up and make a mistake, which will reveal the truth. If that happens, the lightest punishment will be imprisonment." He explained calmly, almost as if talking to a panicking person. Which was close to the reality. "And without your memories, it will also be much easier for you to get into the heart of these people, as you will not have any defenses up naturally."

No… What he actually wanted was to make it impossible for her to snitch or reveal the plans in any way at all. The fact that she would get caught and would gather information much easier was just a bonus.

But.. With both her reiryoku and memories, all that was left of her was… Her old self. That one, which would undoubtedly trust and befriend people like Ichigo in a heartbeat.

She jumped when she felt a light touch on her shoulder. Without her noticing it at all, Aizen had come to stand right in front of her. "Do not worry, Lucy. If we do it this way, it should be completely safe for you." He reassured her.

Yeah, right. Except if she went and told her story out loud to the humans while Ulquiorra was watching. Or maybe Ulquiorra wouldn't even need to be listening - the humans would be enough. Or if they decided to kill her, so that the information she had wouldn't leave them when they found her true identity out. Not to mention she was stuck in a war, surrounding herself with enemies. But sure, she should be safe.

"I will be doing the extraction of your memories myself, storing it with your reiryoku in your zanpakuto." He added. She wasn't even sure whether that was reassuring or not at this point. And since when could he do things like that? "I am not sure you are aware of it, however my bankai is able to.. Manipulate the memories of a person, sort of. Make them see whatever I wish them to. I haven't used it at all since leaving the Soul Society, so forgive me if I am a little rusty." He said with an added laugh.

She wasn't aware he could do that.. And she really hoped his last statement was true, because the thought of him running around, using that was uncomfortable and creepy.

She sighed internally. Did she really have a choice anymore? She brought the idea up in the first place, and these were his conditions. She didn't like them, to be honest, but that was to be expected. She was also asking for a lot.

She looked up at him directly. "Okay. We have a deal. On one condition." She told him firmly. On this condition, she would not budge.

An amused smile spread on the former Shinigami's face. "I figured you wouldn't just take it like that. What is your condition?" He asked, apparently finding it funny.

"My zanpakuto - along with my memories and reiryoku - will only ever be in Grimmjow's hands right until I get back and they will be returned to me." She declared. There was no one she trusted more to take care of that in her absence. And she knew he likely wouldn't have it any other way either.

Aizen smiled a little wider and nodded. "Of course, that will be no problem." He promised her. "You will tell me everything you find out during this week, without letting anything out." He said, holding his hand out to her.

She nodded. "That's a deal, then." She said, putting her hand in his.

"You will be leaving tomorrow. Make sure to get enough rest - I will take care of all the preparations." He told her. Well then… Now that was decided.

Now… To break it to Grimmjow.

* * *

"This is a fucking stupid idea. Why would you even do stupid shit like this? We're going down to cancel it right now." Grimmjow said as the both of them walked down the long hallway.

She audibly sighed next to him. "Look, I know you don't like this, but it has already been decided. No matter how much you dislike it, it going to happen." She told him. The firm tone told him it wasn't going to be changed.

He growled under his breath. Of course she'd only just told him about this bullshit right before they were leaving for the meeting room, where this shit would go down. Where her goddamn fucking memories and reiryoku would be taken from her. She'd literally be a defenseless, little kitten after that.

"Fucking hell, Kitten. That's a damn suicide-mission. And on top of that, the damn bat will go and tell the Shinigami about everything and then it'll be a mass-murder too." He said. The fairies would have their damn wings clipped real soon.

She actually, literally rolled her eyes at him. "Why do you always have to be such a pessimist, Grim?" She asked him, almost sounding amused.

"Because you're such a fucking naïve child, Kitten!" He loudly told her. "Just don't come crying to me after this is done. I warned you already." He said grumpily, pushing his hand into his pocket.

"What's done is done. I'm going to go to Earth and you're going to become an Espada again." She told him, her gaze never leaving the guarded door ahead.

He followed her gaze. Well damn, they were already here. "I just can't believe you went to that bastard after I went and warned you about him, just so you could do suicidal bullshit like this." He then mumbled.

She actually giggled at him, shaking her head. "Honestly Grim, you're bitching just like a girl would now." She told him, apparently barely holding in a laugh.

He frowned, stopped up, then glared at the back of her golden head. "You think this is fucking funny?" He asked her, feeling his anger rising as he caught up to her again. "Let me tell you who's a fucking bitch-"

"Loly." She said to the pigtailed fangirl, who was standing guard and watching their 'conversation' amusedly. "Please let us in." Lucy said, completely ignoring Grim, who groaned in frustration right behind her.

"Sure, Heartfilia. Go on in." The pigtailed girl said, opening the door for her. The only reason she would ever be this willing to do as Lucy said would be because she knew what was going on and where Lucy was going.

On the inside, there really weren't that much of a gathering. All there was to send her off was the bare necessities - the Shinigami and Szayel. And then the damn bat lurking in a corner.

Aizen welcomed them with an annoying smile. "Are you all prepared to go, Lucy?" He asked her.

She nodded and gestured to her outfit - it was still black and white as that was all they had around here. Apart from that, it looked nothing like the usual Arrancar-wear. "Yes, I'm ready. I don't get to bring a lot with me, after all." She said.

He laughed. "No I suppose you don't." He agreed, then gestured for her to approach. "While I will remove all the memories of your afterlife, I will let you remember Ichigo Kurosaki's name. That way, you are more or less guaranteed to find him at some point." He explained. She simply nodded. "Your mission will last a week, however if he deems it necessary, Ulquiorra may pull you out at any given time." He added.

Well, that was a new rule. But it was good to know his little kitten would have someone watching her back out there. Even if it was the bat.

When she nodded again, he gestured to her whip. "Please hold your zanpakuto in your hands - no need to draw it though." He said. She did ask asked, holding the pointy weapon in her hands like it was some kind of offering. He then turned to Szayel. "Szayelaporro, please store her Hollow reiryoku in the zanpakuto, if you would."

Szayel nodded, a rather crazy grin on his face. "Yeah, sure, it's my pleasure." He said, stepping in front of Lucy and pulling something out from his jacket, which Grimmjow couldn't see from his position.

He glared at the scientist. He was not at all comfortable with this situation. All that had him not blowing this place up and b-lining it out of here with her on tow was the fact that, despite everything, her memories and reiryoku would be safe with him the entire time. Aizen or some other bastard in here wouldn't be the ones taking care of it - he was the one who was to do that.

"It's probably going to feel like you've been punched in your stomach - that's what the other test-subjects said anyway." Szayel said, an unnerving grin on his face. Which really needed to be punched.

She nodded. "Just do it." She told him, obviously wanting it over with as fast as possible.

Szayel nodded, then fired up for his own reiatsu. From what Grimmjow could tell, he directed it into the invention he had. The reverse hogyoku or whatever the hell the crazy bastard called it. "Aaaaaaaand… That should do it." The pinkette mumbled to himself.

For a long moment, not a single thing happened. But then, all of a sudden, Lucy's body jerked unnaturally, making her arc her back and curl into herself a little. The choking sound of her struggling to breathe followed, making this whole scene even more uncomfortable to watch. Seconds later, a stream of darkness - her reiryoku, he felt - flowed out from her open mouth as if she was throwing it up. It was then absorbed into the weapon in her hands.

It was a grotesque sight to watch. It took all he had in him right now not to blast the mad scientist down and put an end to whatever kind of fucking torture this seemed to be, but he didn't do it. It wouldn't make things better in any way.

It continued on for far too long, but at some point, it finally stopped, leaving a dark glow around the weapon for a second. The feeling of concentrated reiryoku flowed from it, evidence of the power the little kitten actually had in her, but rarely let anyone see.

While she struggled to get the air into her lungs again, looking and sounding like she'd been on the verge of dying, Szayel simply nodded to himself, looking down at her as if she was yet another successful experiment. And it damn well better have been. "As soon as this is given to you again, both your reiryoku and your memories will return to you automatically." He told her.

Aizen stepped forward, not at all looking like the scene in front of him had fazed him at all. Sick bastard. "Was it successful, Szayelaporro?" He asked.

Szayel nodded, grinning. "Yes, it worked to perfection. Her two reiryoku's have separated. The evidence is already there - her remnants, hole and number are already gone and sealed inside the zanpakuto." He said

Grimmjow looked at the top of her head. To his confusion and surprise, her ears had indeed disappeared. It must have been a graduate disappearance, as he hadn't seen it. His eyes trailed to the exposed part of her lower back, where the remnants of the ribcage-like bone-structure had been visible. It too, was nowhere to be seen.

She seemed to have gotten her gathering back enough to turn her hands around - holding the weapon firmly to not drop it. And yes, her number and hole had both disappeared, revealing the pink insignia she'd always said she had, on her left hand.

For a short moment, she stared at it at something akin to awe, but then realized where she was and turned it upside down immediately. Grim looked at the others. If anyone had seen it, they didn't react on it. Damnit.

Szayel backed away and allowed for Aizen to have the spot in front of her. "Are you feeling all right, Lucy?" He asked with what could only be feigned worry. The bastard didn't care about anyone, that was the only thing Grimmjow was absolutely sure of.

She nodded a little breathily "Yeah… I'm fine… Just… Weak." She panted, her eyes wide as she struggled to speak.

He nodded, now also frowning a little in fake worry. Damn that bastard was good. No wonder she was fooled. "That's good, everything is as it should be." He confirmed with himself. "Do you think you are ready for the next round - it will not hurt you at all, it's just exhausting." He promised her.

With a light groan, she stretched her back and nodded again, breathing out to steady her breath. "Yes. I am ready." She said.

Aizen nodded and - to Grimmjow's great discomfort - drew his zanpakuto. "All right. It will only take a second." He said, then held the sword up between them, pointing up in the air. Lucy stared intently at it, likely preparing herself mentally for what was about to happen. "Bankai." Aizen muttered.

Reiatsu exploded from him and into the room, making it difficult to breathe under the weight and thickness of it, though his sword didn't change its appearance at all. Nothing grotesque happened like with Szayel though. Only the feeling of the reiatsu being directed at Lucy and the groan she released even proved he was doing anything.

And as promised, it didn't last much longer than a single second. As quickly as it had appeared, the reiatsu also disappeared, and Aizen re-sheathed his zanpakuto. The harsh expression he wore told Grim the deed had been done.

His gaze shifted to the blonde, only to see her swaying on her feet. Only barely in time, he managed to awkwardly catch her before she fell to the ground. He could feel how her body went limp in his one arm and somehow managed to hold her up through using his own body to steady her, holding her as close as possible.

He looked up from the blonde and over to the guy, who'd just erased her memories. "Being exhausted afterwards and passing the fuck out are two different things, you know." He told the guy.

Aizen smiled lopsidedly. "Well, I never said how exhausting it was going to be." He shot back.

Gin cut in before Grimmjow could glare a hole in the other guy's forehead. "Ya sure ya don' wan' any help with that, Grimmjow? Looks awfully difficult ta me." He said, gesturing to the blonde.

Grimmjow turned his glare to the silver-haired guy. "I'll manage." He curtly told him, making the guy shut up effectively.

A patronizing smile spread on Aizen's face. "Well then. You know the way." He said. "Just open a garganta and drop her somewhere. Whoever they've got over there will come running - just disappear before they get there." He ordered Grimmjow.

Grimmjow only glared even more furiously at him. Fucking bastard had to put salt in the wound whenever the fuck he could. Fuck him. "Sure, whatever." He growled. He didn't waste any time on creating the garganta and going through it.

On the other side, he ended out in Karakura town, or whatever the hell it was called. In the middle of some kind of big field with white lines on it. For some kind of sport the humans wasted their time with, probably.

He growled, already feeling that there were some fairly strong presences - other than the carrot-top - around here. Brought even more backup, that bastard.

He somehow managed to get Lucy down on the ground without dropping her or anything. She honestly looked more like she was sleeping than as if she'd just had almost everything that had made her herself ripped out of her. From the weak reiatsu he felt from her, it didn't even feel like the girl he'd gotten to know. The reiatsu was way too different.

He grunted as he picked the whip up from her hand, looking from it and down to her again. "Why in the fuck did you have to do this shit? You could've just stayed with me back in Las Noches - we'd figure everything out." He growled.

But he couldn't feel angry about it. Doing things like this was just part of who she was, and he couldn't stop it even if he'd wanted to.

He looked to the right, when he felt a pair of fairly strong presences approach. "Goddammit. This'll be the longest week in my goddamn life." He growled under his breath, before quickly slipping through the garganta again.

* * *

 **Well… Holy shit. Things went down in this chapter. As it looks, you guys actually won't get much of a break with the next few - the plot is progressing after all.**

 **So, let's talk about Aizen's bankai, because I** _ **know**_ **some of you will be confused about this. You will not remember this from canon. And it will not be your just forgetting, because Aizen's bankai wasn't introduced in canon. So, as his shikai ability is that of hypnosis - where he can make anyone see anything he so pleases and even if they know, they can't break out and all, I figured the bankai would have to be a step up from that.  
So, memory manipulation, as the shikai ability is basically manipulation of the senses. Think it basically explains itself, so I won't delve further into it than that. You guys are smart, after all**

 **And yeah. Lucy's going to Earth. As her previous, happy, kind, sweet and even more naïve self. So that's going to be interesting.**

 **Also, not only does Lucy have proof that Grimmjow cares about her, we also basically got proof that he might also care for her a little more than she might think.**

 **So yeah, hope you enjoyed! And as usual; thanks for reading, favoriting, following and commenting!**

 **~Line464d**


	15. Chapter 15 - Earth

**Chapter 15 - Earth**

 **I am SO sorry for the wait guys, but thank you a million times for your patience and your supportive words! It really made me happy to read..  
So here I am, the chapter is done, and it's ready for you guys!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I do not own either Bleach or Fairy Tail. Like you didn't know that, though**

* * *

"Hey! Are you okay?" A light, urgent voice asked. Lucy could feel herself being shaken lightly by her shoulder. She'd been asleep…?

She attempted blinking her eyes open, but as soon as the bright light met her eyes, a painful headache exploded behind her eyes. She snapped her eyes shut and groaned in pain.

"Hey, lady, did you see someone suspicious pass by here just a moment ago?" Another person asked her, a guy, obviously. But honestly, she couldn't even answer through her headache.

"How can you even ask her that question, Captain? She's obviously not in any condition to worry about that." The first voice, a woman, she realized, told the second person.

Trying to douse the pain and clear her head, she took a deep breath. It allowed her to see the two people in front of her. As she figured, a boy and a woman.

The woman - who was extremely close at the moment, but pulled away to let the blonde get up - was honestly a beauty. Long, wavy, ginger hair and bright, blue eyes. Her curvaceous body was highlighted with the pink scarf hanging down her shoulders over the black robes, and the white sash bound around her waist, under her breasts.

The guy was a low boy with spiky, white hair and sharp, turquoise eyes. He wore the same robes as the woman, but seemed to wear it in a… Much less free-spirited and revealing way. Probably also the right way to wear it. He was wearing a strangely familiar, white coat over it.

Her eyes then flew to her surroundings. This… This was definitely not Magnolia. She was in a strange place she could not for the life of her recognize at all. Actually, this place felt strange. The magic in this place was not like what she was used to.

And something very important was missing. She couldn't put her finger on what, but something she just couldn't imagine losing wasn't there. But what it was, she had no clue.

Where in the world was she? And who were these people?

She turned her confused gaze to the woman and boy in front of her. "I'm sorry, but… Where am I?" She asked, knowing how strange of a question it must be to them.

True enough, the ginger one looked at her as if she'd just asked if grass was green. But it was the small boy, who answered. "You mean to tell us you have no idea where you are, despite being passed out here?" He asked incredulously.

Lucy knew it was ridiculous, but… She really, honestly didn't have any clue as to what this place was or why she was here, even. And it was sort of embarrassing. Alas, she could only nod, averting her gaze to the ground and away from his sharp eyes.

The woman leaned back, still confused. "You're in Karakura town, Japan… How did you end up here from the Soul Society?" She asked.

Lucy looked at her with a frown. "Soul Society?" She asked, confused. If that was a place, she had never heard of it. Neither that, nor Karakura town or Japan.

"Yes, Soul Society." The boy confirmed, his arms crossed. "The place you should be - with all the other souls." He said, looking around as if searching for something. He was irritated about something, but she wasn't sure it was actually her.

"Souls…?" She asked, now even more confused than before. Now what did that mean?

The woman made an understanding expression. "Ohh… You're new, aren't you?" She asked. It had to be rhetorical, as she didn't give Lucy any chance to reply. "Yes, souls of the dead. So, dead people. Don't know how you ended up here, but it must've been a mistake of some sort…" She said, looking thoughtful.

Lucy simply stared straight ahead. She was dead..? She jerked slightly as the memory of the long, thin, cold blade being forced through her chest. Her hand flashed to her chest, where she gripped the clothing tightly and for a moment struggled to breathe as the memory of her death returned to her again.

She was dead. She was actually dead. She'd died.

And now… She was probably not even at Earthland any longer. She had no idea where she was. She had no idea who these people were supposed to be. And she was likely never going to see her friends and family again.

"We don't have time for this." She vaguely heard the boy say behind her stream of thoughts. "We need to figure out why that Arrancar was here."

The woman sighed. "They're already gone, so we probably won't find out. Just leave it, if it's important we'll know soon enough." She said.

"Yes, but the-" The boy didn't even get to finish as Lucy cut him off.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The two words had jumped right into the forefront of her mind. She didn't know what they meant or why she knew them at all, but she knew they had to mean something. She didn't even care about the perturbed look the guy was giving her - if not actually angry.

"Ichigo?" The woman asked, blinking profusely at the sudden combination of words. She clearly knew something about whatever it was though.

It was the only lead Lucy had right now. To what, she had no clue. But she figured all she could do at this point was going wherever it would take her. "Do you know what it is?" She eagerly asked, looking intently at the other woman from where she was sitting on the ground.

"Well, yeah, I do…" The woman trailed off, looking like she'd never hit this level of confusion before in her life.

She didn't get a chance to fully reply as the boy cut in. "'It' is a living, breathing, human being, who is of very high value to us." He explained curtly, his eyes slightly narrowed. "How do you know about him?" He directly asked her.

She almost gulped at the animosity she felt from the guy and only just now noticed that the both of them were carrying swords at their sides. "I-I don't! I don't know how I know his name. I didn't even know it was a person!" She tried to convince them before anything drastic would happen. She didn't even have her keys or whip by her, so she was basically defenseless right now. These two were way too strong for her to could ever hope to take on either way. "I don't have any ill intentions towards any of you. I promise!" She told them insistently.

Especially the guy looked at her suspiciously, but he didn't move to draw the sword. "What made you say his name?" He asked her, the sternness in his voice reminding her of Erza's. The underlying promise of death if she didn't answer honestly helped making it even more realistic.

"I… The words are the only things I can remember since dying. It's the only thing I know." She told him slowly but truthfully, searching for the right way to explain herself. "I don't know why, but I know his name." She explained the best she could. She honestly had no idea where it came from, but she couldn't just leave it alone.

The boy sighed, annoyed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you see him." He said, predicting her next question. She smiled and nodded. That would be great. Maybe it would help her figure out what was going on. "With those levels of reiatsu, you will be no threat to neither him nor any of us." He then added - whatever that meant.

The woman nodded as well. "Worth a try." She agreed, almost as if she could read Lucy's thoughts. "We'll get you back to Soul Society as soon as possible as well. I hope you don't mind waiting a bit, though." She said almost apologetically.

Lucy slowly shook her head. She wasn't even sure that was the place she was supposed to be but… Well, she trusted these two to know what was supposed to happen to her now.

"It will have to wait until this war is over." The boy briskly said as he turned and began walking away in a certain direction.

The blonde quickly got to her feet, trying to ignore the searing pain which washed through her head at the action. "War?" She repeated, staring at the back of his head with wide eyes.

The woman placed a hand on the blonde's back, pushing her forward. "It's a long story, but don't worry. We, Shinigami, will take care of it soon enough." She promised the Celestial mage. "Just come with us for now - you shouldn't stay out in the streets like that." She said.

Lucy frowned. Where had she heard that before? "Shinigami?" She spoke her thoughts out loud. This was all so hard for her to understand.

"I need something to drink before we begin this conversation." The woman complained with a sigh - kind of like how Cana would, had she been in a situation like this.

The boy ahead didn't even turn as he spoke to the woman. "You're at work, Rangiku. This is no time to slack off." He told her.

The woman huffed. "Yeah, yeah." She simply replied, then turned to Lucy. "Sorry, I don't think I caught your name at all?"

Lucy smiled despite her general confusion with her situation. "Oh, I'm Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you and thanks for your help." She said brightly. In due time, all this would probably make sense to her. For now, she should just follow these people and see where it would take her.

The woman smiled brightly. "That's no problem! I'm Rangiku Matsumoto - nice to meet you too." She said, taking the blonde's hand for a quick shake. "That over there's Toshiro Hitsugaya." She added nodding in the boy's direction.

He looked at the both of them over shoulder. "That's _Captain_ Hitsugaya to the both of you." He told them. It wasn't up for discussion.

She nodded. We, they were a pretty strange combo but it wasn't like she wasn't used to that kind of thing already. "So… Where are we going, exactly?" She then asked them hesitantly, still not sure whether it was even her place to be asking that question.

"To our temporary hideout." 'Captain' Hitsugaya curtly replied.

* * *

"Sorry to ask this of you, Orihime, but do you think we can make room for one more person?" Rangiku asked the girl standing at the door. Honestly, she kind of looked like Rangiku's younger sister or something like that - they almost had the same figure and were both ginger. Though this girl seemed to be a little more… Proper in the way she dressed.

Lucy smiled and waved to the girl - Orihime - when their eyes met. "Y-yeah, there should be enough space in here for her as well." She said. "Though… Who is she?" She then asked with a slight flush to her cheeks.

Hitsugaya glanced at the Celestial mage momentarily, then looked back to Orihime. "Simply a lost soul from the Soul Society. We are unable to send her back at the moment. As you know, Aizen is likely tracking out every move for an opportunity to strike. We cannot let him have the first strike." He replied.

Though she had nothing to do with this war, she frowned in worry. From the looks of it, it didn't seem very safe to be here, what with this 'Aizen' keeping watch of everything and some war about to break loose…

"Right." Orihime said with a nod, then stepped to the side. "Well, come in then." She said with a smile.

The other two went straight in, while she turned to the girl. "Thank you so much for letting me stay here - just say the word and I'll help any way I can." She said. That was the least she could do for having these people take care of her like this.

"Oh, it's no problem. I don't mind the visitors - the house gets so silent sometimes, living alone." She said, easily brushing the blonde's worries off. She then turned and waved the other girl inside.

Lucy looked at her with a tilted head, which let her long, straight hair trickle the bare skin on her neck. "You live alone?" She asked the girl. She seemed a little too young to live alone. Though… She probably wasn't the right person to judge others in that regard.

A little smiled and downcast eyes told her it hadn't been the right question to ask. "I've lived here with my brother, but.. He passed away, so now it's just me." She said with attempted cheeriness.

Inwardly slapping herself, she looked at the girl apologetically. "Ah, I'm sorry I asked…" She said. It was quite a personal question to ask a person the first time you met them.

The girl shook her head. "Don't worry about it, it's okay." She reassured the blonde girl. "My name is Orihime Inoue, by the way. I hope we can be friends!" She introduced herself.

Lucy smiled bright at her. "I would love that!" She replied. Orihime seemed like a really nice girl so far, so that would be wonderful. "And I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She added quickly, realizing she'd skipped that step.

"So are you a Shinigami like Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku?" She asked. Yeah, Rangiku had mentioned that before as well. Lucy still had no clue what that was supposed to mean though.

So. She shook her head. "No, I'm not a… Shinigami?" It came out more so as a question than a statement.

"Oh…" She said, looking a little confused. "Sorry, I just thought… With that amount of reiatsu, I just thought you might be one." She muttered mostly to herself.

"We found her lying on the soccer-field by the school. She seems to be new." Rangiku said as she returned from the other room she'd been in for a while. She'd now changed clothes into a white shirt and a gray skirt, just like Orihime's. "But you're right, Lucy's actually got quite a lot of reiatsu for someone who just died." She said, looking to the blonde excitedly. "You should really consider joining the Shinigami Academy - you'd probably be awesome and I need a drinking-buddy." She said with a grin.

"What? Shunsui and Shuhei aren't enough for you now?" Hitsugaya asked from the other room. Orihime and Lucy exchanged gazes, then both giggled at the other two's antics - it clearly wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation.

"Yes, but I really miss having another lady around to drink with." She almost yelled back childishly.

"So the first thing you could think of was corrupting a potential new recruit with your lazy ways?" He asked as he stepped in, now also changed into that similar outfit - just the male version. Why were they all wearing that?

Rangiku grinned widely, a glint in her eyes. "Yes!" She admitted loudly, without any regrets.

While Hitsugaya grunted in frustration, Lucy decided to step in before Rangiku could decide all sorts of strange things for her. "Sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the drinking - I'm a bit of a lightweight." She said. The best way to impress really wasn't through her drunk self. "I'll consider becoming a Shinigami though." She added. So far, she had gathered as much as they were fighters of some sort, maybe something like the guilds she was used to.

What the dead had to fight a war over, she didn't know. "Ah, well. One down, one to go. I'll have you convinced soon enough." Rangiku said with a wink. "For now, we have to go to school." She said, an exasperated look on her face.

"School?" Was all Lucy could ask.

* * *

"So… Shinigami are dead people, who didn't immediately pass on?" Lucy asked for clarification. They were at the school's rooftop, where no one would see either her or Rangiku, who'd been allowed to take a day off to explain as much as possible to the clueless blonde.

Rangiku nodded. "Yes. We watch out for both the living and the dead and do what we can to keep them separated." She elaborated. Generally, she'd been very patient with the blonde, who was struggling to absorb all this new knowledge. "That, and we regularly do patrols here in the living world, so that we can guide the wandering souls on the right path - whether that be heaven, hell or Soul Society." She said as a somewhat grim expression took residence on her face. "If we don't manage to do that in time - and it isn't at all always we do - these souls turn into the creatures we call 'Hollows'" She explained.

With a little, worried frown, Lucy had to ask the obvious question. "What are Hollows?" She asked.

Rangiku breathed in lightly. "Hollows are mindless beasts, who run only on their instincts, lust and hunger. They feed on the souls of the living and wandering souls. Every time they eat, they will get stronger and stronger until they reach a limit and evolve to allow them to get even stronger. From here, they just eat each other." She explained.

Lucy couldn't help gasping at that. "That's horrible." She said, flabbergasted such malicious creatures were even allowed to exist in any world. "Poor souls, caught in such a fate…" She said, feeling genuinely sorry for the people who turned into that.

Rangiku nodded solemnly. "Exactly. That's why we try to do what we can to prevent it from happening. And even if it does, we will do everything in our power to make sure it claims as few victims as possible." She explained.

The blonde nodded. "How many Hollows exist?" She asked, both curious and wanting to find out what her chances of not meeting one were.

Rangiku rubbed her temples, ashamed it seemed. "There are a lot out there… Hundreds. Thousands, maybe. We're many, but we just can't get to them all." She explained.

"I… I see." Lucy replied slowly. Well, the odds weren't in her favor with this…

"But." Rangiku said, drawing Lucy's attention back from the dark futures she saw. "The strongest and most dangerous of them all remain in their own world - Hueco Mundo." She reassured the blonde. "Once, the ones we feared the most were the Vasto Lorde - the most powerful of the Hollows. But a new, much worse enemy has appeared." She said dramatically.

The Celestial mage both looked and listened intently to the woman in front of her, eager to know more about this situation. Maybe, in the midst of all this, she would find some way to get back home again, if things here weren't to her taste. At a first glance, it seemed so much darker than anything she was comfortable with.

Rangiku soon continued what she was saying. "One of our own Captains, one of the strongest, has deserted us and fled to Hueco Mundo, taking two other Captains with him in his fall. You may have heard us mention the name Aizen Sousuke - that's him. The two who followed him were both two very honorable Shinigami; Kaname Tosen and Ichimaru Gin." She said, her voice wavering just a little in emotions that Lucy didn't quite feel she had the right to tangle with.

But yeah, she recognized the first name from earlier. One thing bothered her, though. "Wouldn't they get killed almost immediately over there, though?" She asked. If nothing else, these Hollows' instincts should tell them these three didn't fit in.

Rangiku nodded lightly. "Yes, under normal circumstances they probably would." She agreed. "But without our knowledge, he had allied himself with the Hollow king and created a safe-hold over there." She said with a sigh.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "But how is that even possible? Aren't they supposed to be mindless beasts?" She asked the Shinigami.

Said Shinigami nodded, but she wasn't the one to answer the question. "Yeah, but not once they become strong enough." A gruff, male voice said behind her. Turning around, she saw a tall guy with hair as red as Erza's, which exploded out in every direction from his ponytail. Kinda like a pineapple. "They had reason enough to accept his offer of more power and a great chance at taking the Soul Society down and over in exchange for them following him." He explained almost angrily as he plumped down next to her. "So you're the new one Captain Hitsugaya told us about? I'm Renji Abarai, nice to meet ya." He said, holding his hand out to her.

She smiled and grabbed t. "Thanks, you too. I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She replied. Well. This guy seemed to be a carbon-copy of Gajeel - just without the studs and probably not raised by a dragon either. That said, she wasn't finished with the other topic yet. "So he is the one you mentioned before that you're fighting this war against?" She asked.

Rangiku nodded. "Yes, Aizen and his army of Arrancar - Hollows who're given some Shinigami reiatsu, so they have the best qualities of both sides." She explained, crossing her arms. "And now they're actually organized, that's one less great advantage to us." She said with yet another heavy sigh.

Lucy frowned. "Why would this… Aizen do something like this?" She asked, still not sure about that man's motives yet.

"Because he is a power-hungry man." She heard Hitsugaya's unmistakable voice say behind her.

Looking back, she found him, Orihime and two other people; a short, black-haired girl with almost purple eyes and a tall guy with spiky, orange hair and a pair of brown eyes. Something about the guy told her it was Ichigo Kurosaki, the one thing she for some reason knew. She didn't feel a lot different just from seeing him though… Something was still missing.

She didn't get the chance to find either out though, as Hitsugaya continued. "He is set on taking over the Soul Society for himself to reign over. To do that - especially with the crowd he's keeping - he'll need unmatched power. How he has in mind to do that, we still don't know. But it is likely through this creation called the Hogyoku that he stole many years ago." He ended off.

"He hasn't made any moves that might hint where he wants to go?" She asked. It sounded impossible it wouldn't be hidden in some of the things he'd done up until now.

Rangiku shook her head. "Not many, no. That's the scariest part, because we won't know what that bastard's got in mind at all." She replied through a fairly clenched jaw.

Lucy brought a finger to her chin as she wondered. Wondered how it was possible for a person to keep his intentions under such close wraps for so long. They would have to be insanely intelligent.

Being in Fairy Tail, she had met her fair share of enemies, but none of them could ever manage to keep their real plans hidden for too long. Especially not when Erza was doing the interrogation. So this was just impressive, how many people he'd have to fool.

While she was in her own world, the conversation had shifted a bit. "You didn't find anything at all back when you went looking for that reiatsu earlier?" The black-haired girl asked, her gaze sharp.

Hitsugaya shook his head. "No, Rukia, nothing. Except Lucy over there." He clarified. "We still don't know why they were here or who they were at all." He said, clearly not ecstatic with that fact.

Renji glanced at Lucy momentarily. "Could that be the reason she's here though? Could they - for some reason - have given her amnesia and then dumped her here?" He asked, then looked at her apologetically. "Sorry to say, but we got to watch out for ourselves."

She shook her head, brushing it off. "It's okay, you got all right to be suspicious." She reassured him. Of course they would be at this point. They had to.

"I considered that." Hitsugaya admitted, his arms crossed. "But I can't come up with a single reason as to why they would go and do something like that to someone who isn't even a Shinigami, not to mention how they would get their hands on a person like that." He said.

She simply listened silently. She had no idea what put her here - and still wouldn't even if she'd had induced amnesia. She doubted she did though as she could still remember her life vividly. But if these people doubted her, she couldn't blame them.

Orihime looked at her thoughtfully. "Well, it's true she doesn't at all feel like a Hollow or and Arrancar. She feels more like a Shinigami... Though not quite." She slowly said, mostly speaking to herself it seemed. "Could it be possible for her to be a spy though?" She asked.

"Doubt it." The orange-headed guy said, speaking for the first time since his arrival. "It would be a stupid way to do it. Without her memories, she wouldn't be able to fish for the right things." He argued. "She wouldn't be effective as a spy this way. At most, she might have stumbled across that Arrancar, who then knocked her out." He added.

Renji sighed with an exaggerated shrug. "Well, this shit didn't bring us any closer to anything, then." He said exasperatedly.

A heavy silence spread around all of them as they all looked to each other to see if anyone had the answer to this situation. It seemed like no one did.

Finally, the one who undoubtedly was Ichigo smacked his thighs lightly and got up, getting everyone's attention easily. "I've had enough of this." He declared, a look of determination on his face. "I'll be going with that Shinji-guy and let him teach me everything he knows." He announced.

Hitugaya frowned lightly, then shook his head in disapproval. "No. It's too risky with the Hollo-" He wasn't allowed to finish as Ichigo cut him off quickly.

"The Hollow inside of me will be a waste of great potential if we just leave it be. You know that as well as I do." He said. His gaze glided past all of them, ending on Orihime - where it stayed for a moment - and then returned to Hitsugaya. "It's either we leave it be and I might lose myself to it and kill one of you guys one day or we take a chance, which might land us the victory in this war." He said, crossing his arms.

Orihime looked at him worriedly, not liking this outcome. "But, Ichigo… It's dangerous. We don't know those people at all…" She timidly tried to argue, not wanting to hurt Ichigo either.

Rukia - the black-haired girl - quickly jumped in, nodding. "Yes, you could very well die doing this. What if it is all a trap? Then we would lose one of our greatest advantages - our wildcard." She said, her gaze hard.

He looked back at her with the same intensity. "That's a risk I'll gladly run if I can avoid killing any of you with my own, damn hands." He told her.

Lucy smiled lightly, sadly. It was impressive how similar this guy was to Natsu. She couldn't really believe it, actually. Well, just much less of an idiot, of course. But their hearts were definitely in the same place.

With that, he got up, a firm look in his eyes. "That's how it's gonna be. Whether you like it or not." He said, then turned and walked away, knowing everyone had their eyes on his back.

"Idiot." Renji grumbled, just as Ichigo disappeared behind the door leading to the inside of the school.

"Indeed." Hitsugaya agreed with an annoyed sigh as he leaned back against the railing. "Dammit."

* * *

Lucy fell back on the futon she'd been given to sleep on. The day had been long and her body and mind just needed to rest, so she'd turned in early. She was sharing the room with Rangiku, who would probably be getting to bed late. From the looks of it, she and Hitsugaya had a lot of things they needed to discuss before letting the day end.

She also had some things she needed sorted out after this kind of day…

One of the things she had most definitely learnt over the course of this day was that she was not in Earthland right now. As Rangiku called it, this was a place called 'Earth'. It didn't have magic - just like Edolas - but it had some other strange energy instead. They were quite similar, which was probably the reason why she hadn't been discovered yet either. After all, she didn't have this… Reiatsu that the others did - she could feel it was different from magic.

As soon as she got the chance, she should probably tell them. She might as well. They would discover it sooner or later without a doubt, so it would be smartest of her to just tell them straight out. No reason to have an unnecessary argument over something like that.

Now, it was just about finding the opportunity to do it. Maybe they would even help her get back to everyone again - where she belonged.

She couldn't help lifting her hand and staring at the pink insignia on the back of her hand with a nostalgic smile. It was only just barely visible in the silver moon-light, but it stood out vividly in her mind, almost as if she'd been used to only seeing it there.

God, how she missed all of them. It honestly felt like she hadn't seen them in ages, although in reality she'd seen them something like the other day. It was strangely even a little difficult to picture them all in her mind.

Everyone here seemed really nice, that was not it. But it just… Wasn't the same as her guild.

She couldn't stand the thought of that time at the funeral being the last time she saw them all. That her ashen form was the last time they'd see her. It just wasn't right. It wasn't a proper goodbye - if there even was such a thing. Hopefully, after all of this had ended, that wouldn't even be necessary.

She blinked, suddenly feeling the wetness on her cheeks. She drew her hand down and quickly dried them, but it didn't really make much of a difference. She sighed in irritation. Well, lovely. Now there was no way for the others not to know what she'd been doing when she woke up tomorrow. Not with the revealing, puffy eyes she'd have.

Well, whatever the case, she would make the most of her stay here. She wanted to help these guys however she could. They were just like Fairy Tail. They had the same innate kindness in them that she loved. She didn't know them that well yet, but she already sort of cared for them all.

They had helped her out so much - she wouldn't even have a clue what would be of her right now, if it hadn't been for their kindness and help. They had even told her of their current situation, even if they hadn't even known if it was safe for them to do so. She owed them her help in this war already.

Besides, any person who would betray their friends just for the sake of power and start a war against said friends deserved to be locked away. Or… Maybe even killed.

No… No one deserved that.

Either way, a person like that could never be forgiven, no matter what the circumstances were.

She sighed as she rolled over on her side. She couldn't get comfortable at all. Hadn't really been able to ever since she woke up in this world. It wasn't because of the people here, or even the world itself, it was something in her that did it. It was a weird feeling of emptiness. She'd had it ever since that headache finally faded away.

It felt like something incredibly important was missing - especially now she was trying to sleep was the lack of whatever it was obvious to her. It wasn't her family, or even Natsu. That much, she was certain of. Other than that, she couldn't pinpoint what it could be at all. All she knew was that it was something she couldn't imagine being without at this point.

It was a strange, uncomfortable, but also sort of comforting feeling, really. To know there was something like that out there. It would be such a delightful feeling once she found that, she was sure.

Well, but she wouldn't find it tonight, just by lying here in the surprisingly comfortable darkness, even though she wished she could. Actually, she probably wouldn't find it at all, it would find her instead.

So, for now, she should probably just rest up so that she would be prepared for it when it came to her.

* * *

 **Heeeeeeyyyy guys~**

 **So, Lucy's first day at Earth - interesting, no?  
What could she be missing so much, though? Is it just her memories, or is it something else?**

 **First off, I hope you noticed the change in Lucy - and the whole mood of this chapter in itself. Her innocence, naivety, almost childishness should be plain in sight. At least, compared to the more cunning Lucy we've met so far. She is still herself though, so now her real kindness is just showing straight out.  
As for the mood, I hope you could also feel that this chapter was lighter than the others had been. I hope I had success in making this much less dark and, well, I suppose 'angsty', as many of the other chapters have been up till this point.  
But well, you guys be the judge of that. **

**And, of course, the point of them repeating things we already know is both for the sake of introducing the characters, but also getting the new point of view on things. It's always good - in any situation you work with - to have more than just one or two points of view - I'm sure teachers have told you the same about assignments as well.  
So yeah, she's getting another angle, that she will have to take into consideration in the future.**

 **Well, as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter - and I'm sorry for the delay - but thanks for all your wonderful comments, reads, favorites and follows! Keep it up~**

 **~Line464d**


	16. Chapter 16 - Her Past

**Chapter 16 - Her Past**

 **Here you go - today's chapter~!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!  
Disclaimer: As you all should honestly know by now, the two stories combined here belongs to Hiro Mashima and Tite Kubo. Not me. **

* * *

"Since you will be staying around here until the end of this war, we decided it appropriate that you at least know the faces of our enemies." Hitsugaya told Lucy as he brought her into a room in Orihime's house she'd yet to be in.

It was small and completely empty, save for the gigantic screen which covered the back wall. Definitely something these Shinigami installed when they moved here. There was no way something like this was Orihime's.

"I talked with the Captain Commander - the strongest of Soul Society's captains, as I'm sure Matsumoto told you. As you have no training in combat, we decided it would be for the best if you are taught to heal instead with the little time we have. That way, you can also participate without being a hindrance" He told her curtly.

She nodded. "That sounds good." She agreed. It suited her fine - she didn't mind not being on the front lines for once. Besides, she's always wished she could heal just like Wendy every time she was travelling with Natsu by train. So if it was as common as it seemed to be here, she was most definitely more than willing to give it a shot. She just hoped her lack of reiatsu wouldn't get in the way…

"Right." He said as the screen turned on with a blink. "Should you be so unfortunate as to stumble across any of the faces we are about to show you; run." He added somewhat darkly, making her gulp. They were really that dangerous? They had to be with what they'd pulled off already… "Now, let me introduce you to the Captain of the 1st division, the Captain Commander of Soul Society." He then said with an entirely different tone.

She looked up from Hitsugaya to the screen to see the face of an old man on the other side of it. He had a long, white beard and similarly long eyebrows. Apart from that, he was bald, which showed off the crossed battle-scar on his forehead. He seemed kind, just like Master Makarov. So this was their 'guild master'…

"Hello, child." He greeted her with his old, croaky voice, pushing her out of the trance she was in.

Her eyes widened and she quickly bowed by the hip, not wanting to seem rude towards this man. "Greetings, Captain Commander. Thank you for taking such good care of me so far." She quickly said, knowing that if he didn't give the green lights, Hitsugaya would kick her out - head first - before she could even blink.

A chuckle escaped the old man. "Please, just call me Genryusai." He said. She straightened up and was about to introduce herself as well, when he cut her to it. "Captain Hitsugaya has told me of your situation - I am sorry for any trouble this has caused you, however we do not have the resources to remedy this issue at present. I hope you can have patience with us just a little while longer." He said sort of apologetically.

She nodded, easily accepting the apology. "It's okay, I don't mind staying here." She honestly told him. And she really didn't, that was most definitely the truth. Either way, there was nothing to be done. Their victory in this war was far more important than her comfort.

He nodded as well, a faint smile on his lips. "That is good. Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto have told you of the current situation as well, I am sure?" he asked.

She nodded, but Hitsugaya was the one who answered. "Yes, we have told her of the war and that we wish for her to assist with healing however she can." He confirmed.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto is capable of being in charge of teaching her properly, is she not?" Genryusai asked. It was clear he already knew perfectly well she was, but simply asked for permission from the young Captain. Rangiku was his Lieutenant after all. It showed how truly kind this man was.

Hitsugaya nodded. "Yes. I have already spoken to her - she agrees to teach it to Lucy." He confirmed.

"That is good, that is good." The old Captain said as he nodded. "As we agreed, you, my child will be shown the faces of the three enemy leaders so that, should you see them, you can alarm either Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto or Lieutenant Abarai." He said, seemingly shuffling with some papers. "Unfortunately we still have no way of showing you the faces of their Arrancar Commanders, the Espada, as we have only met 3 of them at preset. However I will let Captain Hitsugaya and the others currently stationed at Earth tell you of them at a later time." He said.

She nodded silently. It was clear already that Genryusai was an incredibly busy man, so obviously he wouldn't have time for anything but the utmost necessary. Thinking about it, she was probably extremely privileged to even have him talking to her right now.

With that, he raised three pictures up and into the vision of Hitsugaya and herself, looking down at them as he explained. "These three are the ones you should be most wary of. Kaname Tosen, here on the right, was the Captain of our 9th division. While it is true he is blind, do not under any circumstances underestimate him. His other senses are sharper than anything I've ever encountered in all my years." Genryusai said, pausing for a moment to let the point really sink in. "At the left is Gin Ichimaru, the former Captain of our 3rd division. He is a cunning man, and very intelligent. Again, never underestimate him. He will exploit any weakness he sees." He continued, pausing momentarily once again. "Finally, in the middle, we have the most dangerous of them all, Aizen Sousuke, former Captain of the 5th division. He is a master at manipulating people and a strategist without compare anywhere. That and he has the fearsome ability to control people's senses entirely." He explained. "Do not confro- is something wrong, child?" He cut himself off as he looked at Lucy.

Ever since the pictures had appeared, she hadn't been able to tear her eyes off the man in the middle. Her eyes were wide as saucers and tearing up in both fright and shock. She had thrown her arms around her own trembling form, trying to regain control of herself without any luck.

That guy… Those eyes, those curls, that brown hair, the glasses. She would _never_ forget that face. Ever.

Hitsugaya also turned to her as well, frowning at her strange reaction. "Lucy..?" He slowly asked her, somehow bringing her back to the present.

Her gaze flickered to the young Captain, then back to the man in the middle - Aizen Sousuke, as she'd barely caught them calling him. She somehow untangled a hand from the grip she had on herself and pointed at the man with a shaking finger. "T-that m-man…" She said, barely able to speak with her shaking, tiny voice.

"Aizen?" Hitsugaya asked for confirmation. She nodded. "What about him?" He slowly asked her.

She didn't move her gaze from the picture still. "He… He k-ki-killed me…" She told them, her hand flying to her abdomen when a dull pain erupted from there.

She could feel them both staring at her, but she didn't care. "… What?" Hitsugaya eventually asked.

"He-he kill-led me." She repeated, her gaze momentarily flickering to the man on the left, recognizing that face as well. "H-he was disguised. As the man on the left." She said much more steadily. The initial shock was now gone, replaced by confusion.

The way she remembered it, it was like she was looking at her real killer through an opaque blanket he'd covered himself with, which looked like the one on the left. She was not the slightest bit in doubt about the fact that he was the one who killed her though. She knew it was the man in the middle.

"He… Killed you, you say?" The Captain Commander asked, his voice kept as calm and blank as he could manage in the situation.

She nodded curtly, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Yes, he killed me. Back in that cave near Clover town." She said, staring straight ahead as she spoke. She realized she might be threading dangerous territory by almost telling them she was from another world and that one of their own had actually gone and killed her - especially as that was pretty much the exact opposite of what they were really trying to do.

But a realization had settled in her mind. She would have a chance to meet that man again and demand to know how to get back to Earthland. He knew and he owed her to at least tell her that much.

That, and she had decided just last night that she would let these people know - this was a great opportunity to do just that.

She continued, feeling that the other two weren't going to speak at the moment. "Disguised as the man on the left, he drove a sword right into my stomach." She said, still not looking at either of them as she spoke. She gripped her shirt lightly where she'd been impaled, clenching her jaw at the memory of it.

Hitsugaya shook his head furiously. "No. That's impossible." He declared, sounding absolutely certain about that fact.

She turned a narrowed gaze towards the boy. "What makes you so sure about that?" She asked, crossing her arms under her chest. How could he question her memories like that?

He crossed his arms as well, not budging either. "Because once you die, you forget everything from when you were alive." He told her, continuing through her obvious shock. "Therefore that cannot be true." He concluded.

"You… Lose your memories…?" She asked, not understanding how that could be true. She could remember everything from when she was alive.

Before Hitsugaya could reply, the Captain Commander butted into the conversation again. "Child, where is this 'Clover town' you speak of? Which country might I find it in?" He asked her, speaking to her calmly and slowly.

It didn't ease her confusion, but she stepped away from the urge to panic at her situation. "I… It's in my country, Fiore. Close to the big city, Magnolia." She told him, predicting his next words already.

"Fiore?" He asked, the same question written on Hitsugaya's face. "I am afraid I have heard of no such country." He said.

She knew she probably needed to be careful with what she said if she wanted them to believe her right now. "No… You probably wouldn't have." She said and then sighed deeply. "It is as I thought then." She confirmed with herself, before meeting the man's eyes through the screen. "It is hard to believe, I know, but it would seem I am not from your world - Earth." She told them both firmly.

Hitsugaya looked at her with a frown. "Then what are you? - an alien?" He asked her suspiciously.

She shook her head lightly, shaking off the strange feeling of déjà vu she got from this situation. "Not exactly." She corrected him, searching for the easiest way to explain her current situation. "I think I might be from a parallel world to Earth."

Despite how odd this undoubtedly sounded to them, Genryusai simply nodded. "What makes you think this?" He asked her almost curiously.

She took a short moment to organize her thoughts before replying. "Well.. In many ways, Earth and Earthland - my world - are similar." She slowly said. "But I can feel that this is not my world." She told them, getting a look from the both of them, which urged her to continue. She did, picking the most important things from her list of things that were different between the two. "The first thing I noticed was the feel of the world, the energy which is in it naturally. Here, it is what you call reishi. In my own, there is magic." She explained. "And… Much more of it than there is reishi here." She added.

"Magic…?" Hitsugaya repeated questioningly. From the looks of it, he didn't believe a word she was saying.

She nodded despite this. "Yes. In my word, we have magic, where you have reishi, reiatsu and reiryoku." She explained. Not for the first time, she wondered why they had felt the need to split it into three categories when it was basically the same. However, the look in his eyes didn't change one bit, so she made a decision. "Okay, you will need proof of this, of course. Feel my energy and tell me if it truly does feel like the reiatsu you know." She said, then closed her eyes for a moment and let her magic flow from her in small waves.

Seeing the golden glow around her, Hitsugaya reluctantly played along and focused on her magic with closed eyes. It took him a moment, but then his eyes also flew wide open.

"So..?" The Captain Commander asked likely as much in doubt as Hitsugaya had been and waiting for the proof of either one or the other.

The answer was clear on the guy's face - what with the unmasked shock. "I… I don't know how I didn't notice this before, but… She is right, she has something different from reiatsu. Though, she has a sliver of reiatsu as well." He confirmed.

While her having reiatsu as well surprised her, it also just made sense. She was here, in this world, after all. Dead and all.

So, she gave a curt nod and continued, now knowing the both of them were much more open to listening to her. "We have magic of all kinds; fire ice, support, speed… You name it, we probably got it." She explained, looking down to her own hands. "I have Celestial magic, a somewhat rare magic at this point. I am able to summon beings from another world to aid me however they can and in any situation. Normally in battle though. Unfortunately… It seems I don't have my tools with me, so I can't summon anything…" She said with slightly gritted teeth, feeling week without them at her side. She didn't even have her whip either.

"So… You can't use your 'magic' at all?" Hitsugaya asked, looking like his plans had been crushed.

She shook her head, then abruptly stopped in the middle of it. "Well… There are a few spells for Celestial magic but… I only know one. It's a powerful one, though." She said, rubbing the back of her had in sight embarrassment.

Genryusai hummed thoughtfully from the other end of the screen. "This might explain why you ended up at Earth rather than in the Soul Society, and perhaps even why you still have your memories. Nothing like this has ever happened before though." He said. "While I am anxious to learn more of your world, child, I am afraid I do not have the time for it at the moment. As soon as this war of ours is over, we will do everything in our power to send you back to your rightful place. I apologize, however I still do not have any resources for anything more." He apologized again.

She nodded with a smile. "That's quite all right. I'm just glad you believe me." She honestly told him. That and then that they were willing to help her get back, even. It was far more than she could ever ask for. "In repayment for your kindness, I will aid you in this war any way I can at all. I know it isn't much, but... It's all I can do." She promised with a bow. That, and she would catch Aizen and have him tell her everything he knew of getting to Earthland.

But that plan was crushed with the Captain Commander's next words. "Under no circumstances whatsoever can I allow you to participate in this war. You are to stay well outside its range at all times." He told her, his voice as firm as steel.

She looked at him, eyes slightly wide." What..? Why not?" She asked him. She had always been the useless one, but now she might be able to make a difference and he was taking that chance away from her? And if she stayed out of it, she couldn't get her hands on Aizen either. Was he really denying her both things? She would not agree to that.

He sent her a stern look. "You are no longer merely one of my Shinigami soldiers, you are so much more than that. I cannot allow the possibility of you either dying or, even worse, let Aizen know of your existence. He will undoubtedly recognize you as soon as he sees you. We cannot lose you - you carry invaluable information." He explained, making her thoughts halt. He was right. "You cannot participate in this war, Lucy." He repeated, pronouncing every word clearly.

He was right. She was the only one in this world who knew of and had lived in Earthland. She was irreplaceable to these people. But… She would not just sit down and twiddle her thumbs while a war was going on right in front of her.

She directed a light glare at the elder man, one she hoped would show her conviction rather than be mistaken for being anger. "I'm sorry, Captain Commander, but I can't accept that." She stated, not even glancing at Hitsugaya, who she could feel was looking at her with a stern gaze. She didn't stop despite that - rather, it only seemed to make her get a little more 'fired up' as Natsu would put it. "You can't expect me to sit still and just watch while people die right in front of me." She tried to argue.

The older man leaned back in his seat as he looked at her. "Actually, I do." He stated. By the way he said it, it clearly hadn't been an offer - it'd been a decision. "I know it will be ha-"

"Let me at least help with healing, as planned." She shot in, interrupting the man. He may be leagues above her in basically everything. But there was one fight she would never lose - the one of stubbornness. "I won't be in the war as such and I will be able to help out. Besides, teaching me to heal was basically already decided." She added, crossing her arms pointedly.

Unflinchingly, she stared into the eyes of the Captain Commander, not backing down the slightest. That continued until a smile suddenly grazed his wrinkly features. "I could do with some more people with a spirit like yours." He said, sounding amused. "I will allow it, however only if you promise not to engage in any kind of combat." He said, the humor which had just been in his voice disappearing completely.

She nodded quickly. "Yes, I promise." She agreed. Combat had never been her strong suit either way.

He nodded as well. "Good. For now, please do tell Captain Hitsugaya everything that may be of importance from and about your word. Until we see each other again." He said and then turned off the screen.

* * *

Lucy fell back on her butt breathing heavily in exhaustion. "Phew. This is difficult." She breathed out.

Rangiku nodded next to her, not as beat up as the blonde, but still winded as well. "You're doing great, though. Probably thanks to your magic being as gentle as it is." She said and sat down much more gracefully next to her.

For hours now, Rangiku had taught her to heal using her reiatsu. In the middle of it all though, they'd found out her magic could actually enhance her healing. It made it ten times easier than before, especially because she had so much more magic than she remembered and it was extremely flexible. Probably just another lucky side-effect of coming here. It was still incredibly exhausting though.

"Yeah, probably. That was lucky though." She agreed. She didn't even want to think about how this would be without it.

They looked over to see Orihime approaching with a tray of food when they heard her footsteps. "Hey, you two. How is it going?" She asked them kindly. She placed the tray with onigiri and steamy hot tea in front of them gesturing for them to dig in.

Rangiku took a big bite out of her onigiri. "Good, I'd say." She responded through the rice in her mouth. "Her magic's sure a perk to be wary of. " She said with a laugh and a smirk.

Orihime looked to Lucy almost apologetically. "Ah, it's so hard to believe you're really from a different world, Lucy." She said with a low voice.

Lucy smiled. Had she not seen Edolas with her own eyes back then, she probably wouldn't have been so quick to accept this reality either. "I know it is, but it is the truth. I'm just glad I got it out so early." She replied with a smile.

"I'm more impressed you're just fine with that bastard Aizen killing you and not doing anything about it." Rangiku stated almost coldly. "If it had been me, I'd probably want to rip him to pieces" She added.

"Well.. It's not really a pleasant memory, so I try not to think of it as much as possible." She said, grabbing the tea and taking a taste of it. It was sweet and managed to dull the throbbing pain from her heart. "But I plan to have him tell me how to get back home again, though. If he tells me that, I can leave him in your care without any regrets." She honestly said.

Orihime looked at her with gentle curiosity shining in her eyes. "What is your home like?" She asked, clearly trying to bring up a lighter topic than the one before.

Lucy couldn't help a soft smile from spreading on her lips as she put the tea down again. "It's a lot of things… Loud, messy, rambunctious, crazy, even dangerous once in a while." She said with a laugh, remembering all the flying tables in the guild hall. "But most of all, it's a really warm, loving and caring place. Funny too, of course." She said.

"You must miss it terribly.. I couldn't even imagine.." Orihime trailed off, averting her gaze to the ground. She was worried she had crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.

Lucy just smiled at her, knowing she didn't mean anything ill with it. "I do… I miss them all terribly much." She admitted. There was no use hiding it, it was obvious to anyone who looked at her properly.

A raised brow and a smirk appeared on Rangiku's face. "There's someone in particular you miss especially much, isn't there?" She asked knowingly.

Lucy looked at the Lieutenant with wide eyes. How did she know that? She hadn't given them any hints about that whatsoever.

Seeing her reaction, Rangiku's smile only got wider. "You better spill the beans right now, blondie." She told her teasingly. "If you don't, I'm sure you'll be more talkative with a little booze on the side." She said and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Lucy, for a moment seeing such a situation playing out in her mind, quickly shook her head. "No, no. I'll tell you." Under no circumstances would she let them see that side of her. "It's, uhm, well, you know, Natsu. The one from my team that I told you about." She slowly told them.

"Ohhh, the idiot, fire mage, right?" Rangiku directly asked her.

She nodded, strangely enough not feeling any heat rising to her face as she would have expected it to. "Y-yes, him. I… I love him." She could actually calmly tell them. But it felt wrong. It felt nothing like when she'd told Levy - she could hardly even get a sentence out through her embarrassment back then. But it was still the truth nonetheless. She did love him…

"Oh." Rangiku hummed with a satisfied smile. "Well, kind of figured it'd be like that." She then said as if it was no big surprise.

Lucy looked at her, confused and impressed. "What? How?" She asked, remembering what she'd said as she told them of Fairy Tail. She hadn't mentioned Natsu _that_ much. She shouldn't have been able to figure it out just like that. Unless she had super-human deductive skills.

Rangiku smiled knowingly as her eyes swept to Orihime, who turned red at the sudden attention she was getting. "Because Inoue over there is basically your counterpart of this world. The two of you are too similar." She said with a smirk. Lucy was still confused, she didn't see how that was connected at all. But Rangiku continued before she could as. "And she's most definitely got a little crush going on over there." She said and looked to the poor, embarrassed girl, wanting her to explain the rest.

Lucy looked to the girl as well, now curious. She couldn't help it, you just developed that when talking enough with Mira. "Oh, really?" She asked, wanting to hear who the lucky guy would be. Orihime was definitely a good catch.

The girl looked down and pressed her fingers together. "W-well, I… I sorta… Kinda… Uhm, I k-kinda l-like, uhm…" Her voice trailed off as she dropped her rapidly reddening head down, hiding it from their sights. "I-Ic-Ichi-igo…" She stammered out in a whisper, both of her ears as red as a tomato.

Lucy smiled, keeping her screaming fangirl inside for now. So adorable! She gently touched her 'counterpart's' hand, gaining her attention again. "Of course. He is to you what Natsu is to me, right? A hero who always manages to push through and save the day. And you occasionally as well." She said with a smile. She was without a doubt that, if Orihime truly was the 'Lucy' of this place, then Ichigo was the 'Natsu'.

A bright, binding smile appeared on Orihime's face and she nodded. "Yes. Ichigo is my Natsu." She said with a giggle, almost as if she had just read Lucy's mind.

The blonde couldn't help but giggle along. She then tuned to Rangiku. "So how about you, then?" She asked.

The Lieutenant looked surprised at having been mentioned. "Me?" She asked as if she didn't know what that meant.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, you. Surely someone like you also has their own Natsu as well." She said. Either way, she better spill, because she was the only one who hadn't at this point.

The Shinigami-lady laughed and rustled with her hair at the back of her head. Wanting to escape, in all likelihood. "Well, I guess you could say there was one, but.. Yeah, it's impossible. Especially now." She said, the humor she had started out with flaking off with every word.

Lucy looked at the other woman curiously. Who could this person be? And surely, for a woman as beautiful and fun as she was, it should be no problem, no matter who they were.

Orihime spoke up, a look of determination on her face. "As long as you're both alive, it isn't impossible." She said.

Rangiku looked at the girl with a little smile. "Well, as close to it as possible, then." She corrected herself. Knowing the name of the man was right at the tip of her tongue, the two kept silent. "It's… Ichimaru. Gin Ichimaru." She finally told them, not meeting their eyes.

Lucy blinked furiously in her confusion and surprise. "As in…?" She wasn't sure she should even end the sentence at all.

Rangiku nodded slowly. "Yes, as in one of the three who betrayed the Soul Society." She confirmed.

Lucy tried to remember which of the three that Genryusai had shown her was this 'Gin'. But then it hit her - it was the one Aizen had disguised himself as. The silver-haired guy. She frowned at the memory of the picture and the version of him that Aizen had created. With that smile of his, he wasn't exactly all that pleasant, if she had to be honest…

Rangiku elaborated - probably because of the two girls' expressions. "I know he's done a lot of bad things and isn't exactly the most pleasant person out there, but… He is really kind - even if he doesn't show it to many." She admitted with a sigh. "Just like Ichigo and Natsu have saved the two of you, so did Gin protect and save me. Daily almost, when we were running around in the Rukongai-slums." She said, then paused. A conflicted look took hold of her. "I just… Don't get why he would go and do something like this… It's not like him at all, no matter what anyone else says. I still believe in him, believe that he isn't as evil as he's letting everyone think he is." She said firmly, she believed that whole-heartedly - it easily showed on her. "I just wish there was some way for me to tell him that." She then ended it off, her voice sounding defeated.

Lucy looked at her softly, feeling so sorry for the otherwise boisterous female. "He will know. When he needs you, you will surely be at his side." She said, not doubting the truth of her own words despite how far-fetched they sounded. She couldn't imagine what is must feel like for Rangiku to be in this situation.. She could only hope everything would be done right by her eventually, because it was obvious she loved this man.

Rangiku nodded, a ghost of her usual smile on her lips. "Yeah, maybe." She reluctantly agreed.

* * *

Lucy quickly fell asleep that night, burnt out from the practice she'd been doing all day.

At first, it was the peaceful, heavy sleep you'd imagine someone having after a day like that, but soon, she was writhing around in pain in her bed, magic and reiatsu leaking from her gently - warring against each other, it seemed.

Only the strongest glimpses broke through and made it to her dreams.

* * *

 _She watched, standing almost completely still as the cat-like person turned to her fully._

" _Didn't I tell you to fucking hold him?! You made me lose that damn shithead!"_

* * *

" _Not that it's any of your business, but I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. And I've gotten a sudden craving for cute, little kittens."_

* * *

" _Okay, now you fucking listen here, Kitten. Here in Hueco, you fucking eat or fucking get eaten."_

* * *

" _Can't say I can relate to that, but I can tell you that whatever you did back then wasn't you."_

" _Thank you, but… I didn't just kill them, I… 'Played' with them."_

* * *

" _Regulus' Cero!"_

" _Good job, Kitten. You got him. You need to work on the shivering though."_

* * *

" _You need to show me that angry side of yourself more often. I like how vicious you get."_

* * *

" _Gran Rey Cero."_

 _Before she knew what she was doing, her body moved of its own and she rammed right into him._

" _What the he- LUCY!"_

* * *

" _Kitten, just stay down there. I'll take care of the rest."_

* * *

" _You have a choice here, Grimmjow. You can go for the kill right here and now. Using a Cero or rushing me, it doesn't matter. I won't be able to escape in time. But if you do that, your little girlfriend here dies."_

" _What's the other choice?"_

" _You let me go and she lives."_

" _G-Grim… Do.. It… Kill… Him."_

" _Luckily, you aren't the one making the decisions."_

" _So does that mean you have made your choice?"_

" _Yes. You can go, Ulquiorra. But next time we meet, you're fucking dead."_

* * *

" _I know I told you Celestial mages always keep their promises… right?"_

" _Well, you'll just have to break your shitty promise then."_

* * *

" _Why am I not surprised you're blonde, Kitten?"_

" _Shut up, idiot!"_

* * *

" _I was having some trouble falling asleep, so I was thinking I could join you in here? I'll just be-"_

 _He patted the bed he was lying on. "I don't mind. Unless you really want to sleep on the floor, then I won't stop you."_

" _Thanks Grim."_

* * *

" _Don't apologize for that shit Kitten. I don't know how all that is, but by now it'd be fair enough to say I know you."_

* * *

" _No one's kicking you out, Kitten."_

" _Then what the hell are you doing right now?"_

" _I'm trying to keep you around for as long as damn possible!"_

* * *

 _The sound of a hand flying through the air ended with the sound of skin meeting skin._

" _You fucking asshole! How the fuck could you do something like that without telling me anything about it?! No that's not even important here. How did you let_ all _of them de just like that?!"_

* * *

" _No matter whether I was with you or not, it would still be eliminating a threat."_

" _Oh, all of that was just a bonus, it wasn't why we went."_

" _What? Why did you go, then?"_

" _Because you were being obvious. Obviously, you won't be able to take that human on at all, or even face him, so the plan was that we'd make sure that wouldn't even be a possibility. Didn't exactly go after plan though."_

" _Thank you, Grim. I really appreciate it."_

" _Yeah."_

* * *

She sat right up, staring ahead almost blankly as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. What had she just seen…? Visions of some sort? It was strange though, because she was included in each of them as well, as if she had been there.

She gently touched her hand, which had been covered by that person's just a moment ago in whatever visions they were. She found herself actually… Missing the warmth it created.

She felt like she was supposed to know who that person was, but her mind was drawing a blank.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez… She shivered lightly at the memory of his angry voice and growls. Those were not ones you wanted to be at the receiving end of, though she had seemed to be.

Yet at the sat time, she had obviously not been his enemy either, not with the looks he'd sent her way multiple times throughout those dreams. Those blue eyes, too, sent shivers down her spine, but that was for an entirely different reason.

One thing she couldn't ignore was the feeling of wholeness that she had been without for almost two days now. It was there now, while she thought of that person…

What did it mean? Why did she see those strange dreams? And who was this person to her?

* * *

 **Da, da,** _ **daaaammm.**_ **Leaving it off there, folks.**

 **So, how many of you can actually guess where all of those… I guess we could call them 'quotes'… Are from? I'm impressed if some of you know them all - without looking back and finding them, of course.**

 **Oh, yes, and, while Grimmjow is not actually here, I think you could classify the whole last scene as fluff, wouldn't you say?  
One has to wonder how those memories popped up at all, right? After all, they're supposedly all stored in her zanpakuto, which is with Grimmjow in Hueco Mundo. **

**Now, we also had some girl-talk between Orihime, Rangiku and Lucy. Which… I personally found adorable.**

 **And yeah, Lucy's being taught to heal as well. Though, well, we all know she won't be able to contribute to the war on that front all that much.**

 **Finally, she also actually spilled the real beans and let them all know about who she really is and where she's from. Right in front of the Captain Commander, no less. So there's that.  
Not to mention she actually called out Aizen as her real killer. Not Gin. Hmmm…..**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks a bunch of bunches for reading, following favoriting and commenting! - By the way, we're already at 100 comments~! Thanks a bunch to xhope14x for hitting that milestone!**

 **~Line464d**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Capabilities of Magic

**Chapter 17 - The Capabilities of Magic**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own neither Bleach nor Fairy Tail. Unfortunately. **

* * *

Lucy wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand, breathing out. Nonetheless, she focused both her magic and whatever reiatsu she had on healing the injured arm before her.

While she wasn't quick at it - most especially because she truly only had a tiny amount of reiatsu - but she was already doing much better than when she had begun a few days ago. It still required more or less her undivided concentration though.

But she didn't mind that the least. All of this was already much more than she could have ever asked for. At Earthland, it would have taken her entire life - likely even more than that, if she was to learn healing. The second magic was always many, many times harder than the first and would probably never be anything like the first in power.

It would still be nice if she could somehow get some more reiatsu to work with though. Rangiku had said it was possible. If she continued practicing and using it - in other words, training with it - then she would get more of it.

For a moment, her memories flashed back to the strange dreams she'd had. In those, she'd had much more reiatsu, but… It wasn't like the reiatsu she had now.

She was still not sure what all that was, why she even saw it or if it was even real in the first place. It was supposed to take place in the Hollows' world, Hueco Mundo, but it was hard to believe it to be true. The place she'd seen in those dreams wasn't quite as cold-hearted as she had been told Hueco Mundo to be. The further she got in those dreams, the less likely it just seemed.

At the same time though, she knew the person she'd seen - Grimmjow - was real. He was one of Aizen's Espada. And he'd attacked this place just a pair of days before her arrival.

Knowing he was real only made this all the more strange. But... Finding out also got her kind of excited. To see if the one in her dreams was the same as the real one. Strangely, she was kind of looking forward to meeting him herself and make the comparison.

But. She shouldn't really be feeling this way about him, should she? He was an incredibly dangerous person - he could easily face both Ichigo and Hitsugaya, who were their strongest two at the moment, without any problems. Why, he might even win. She should be afraid of him.

"You know, Lucy, if you want a break, just says so." She heard Rangiku's voice call out to her, quickly breaking her out of the daze she'd been caught up in. She was looking at Lucy almost worriedly.

The blonde mage shook her head gently, both brushing her own thoughts and Rangiku's worry off. "Sorry, I was just a little distracted for a moment. I'm focusing now." She promised her 'teacher'. She frowned, bringing her attention back to the arm she'd been supposed to heal, only to find there was nothing to heal.

Rangiku giggled - probably at the expression the blonde was wearing, then retracted her arm. "Yeah, you need a break for sure." She agreed with herself, then got up from the ground she'd been sitting on and brushed herself off.

Lucy sighed, trying to force down the embarrassment she felt at not really being present. At least Rangiku probably just thought she was thinking of her guild and not the enemy.

Luckily, though it was about something else, she wasn't the only one who worried and got distracted. After all, after three consecutive appearances of Aizen's army, everything had been silent from him.

Some would probably say they should enjoy the peace they had. But it honestly just felt like the calm before the storm. The war was really just at the verge of breaking out. It felt like it could start at any minute now. It might even come knocking at the door in an hour and she wouldn't be too surprised about it.

Of course, simply waiting for it to happen like this had them all extremely anxious. They couldn't do anything, as that might trigger it, and they needed all the time they could get. For some - Renji, for example - they could barely even wait to draw their swords and hack through their enemies.

Lucy sighed again as she fell back and let herself lie back down on the ground. As if the war in itself wasn't worrisome enough, she also had to worry about Aizen - or anyone from whatever army he had - finding out about her keeping her memories and being from another world. Hitsugaya had told her expressively time and time again that under no circumstances could he be allowed to figure that out. The number of vile things he could do with that knowledge was immeasurable.

He already knew of her world, yes, but it seemed it was impossible for him to go there with the portals his Arrancar and he himself could create already. To use that, he'd have to know exactly where it was, be able to see it in his mind and then actually go there. He shouldn't be able to do that. It was apparently clear that he had somehow used the Dangai - a strange portal of the Shinigami's - to go there the first time, as he had dragged some of his Shinigami subordinates with him back then.

So, at the very least, her world would be safe from him. It wasn't much, but it was definitely enough in her current situation.

"You two finally taking a break? You've been at it all day long, so it was about time." A female voice Lucy'd come to easily recognize called out from Orihime's rooftop.

"Oh, hi Rukia. Yeah, we're taking a break for now." Lucy confirmed, smiling when their eyes met. The girl was squatting up on the roof as if that was entirely normal. It basically was for her at this point.

"What's up? Got something you need to tell us?" Rangiku asked. Well, it was a fair question. Rukia didn't pop up during their practice at all - this was the first time. After all, she was also preparing herself for this war just as they were, so she rarely had the time.

"Oh, no. That's not why I came." She told them and then jumped down, landing on the ground soundlessly. "Was just wondering if you two were up for visiting Ichigo and Inoue to see how they're doing?" She then asked.

Lucy and Rangiku exchanged gazes, though the both of them knew exactly what the other was thinking. There was not any point in time in which they didn't have the time to watch a soon-to-be couple working through the awkward phase.

Rangiku grinned widely, nodding. "Of course!"

* * *

"Seems they put up a barrier…" Rukia commented, putting her hand up flat against the air as if there was a wall. A faint glow spread from her palm and out in a quick wave, proving that there was indeed an invisible wall there.

Rangiku put her hand to her hips and glared at the building, which was protected by the newly-discovered barrier." Just how paranoid are these people?" She asked out loud as she seemingly wracked her brain, searching for a solution to this problem.

The building in which Ichigo and Orihime were - along with these other people - was and old one, to say the least. It honestly looked like it would fall part at the slightest touch. Yet, it still held out even as these people trained with explosive amounts of reiatsu that the three could feel even through their barrier. They had to have reinforced it somehow…

A lot of trouble to go through both protecting and reinforcing this place, but… It was probably not for nothing that they did that.

She could only wonder about one thing then. "How in the world did Orihime get in here in the first place?" She asked, though she knew none of the two with her had the answer.

As far as she knew, none of Orihime's abilities would be able to do something like this. She had an offensive technique, but as the girl had said herself, it wasn't really all that strong. From the looks of it, this barrier was pretty tough. She also had some defensive techniques as well - sort of a mix between a shield and barrier - but unless that could somehow nullify other barriers, that couldn't be it. Finally, she also had some strange but powerful healing-abilities as well. While they hadn't found out exactly what it was all about, it was unlikely that had anything to do with her breaking out of here.

"Through the power of love and pure willpower, probably." Rangiku replied jokingly, earning a huff of laughter from Rukia. "Seriously though, how are we going to get in there and spy on the two lovebirds?" She asked. While a little weird, it was definitely a driving-force to be reckoned with.

"I have no idea…" Rukia replied, equally as puzzled as the other Shinigami. "Barriers never were my strong suit." She said while Rangiku nodded; neither was it hers.

Lucy frowned lightly when an idea popped into her head. "Well…" She said, gaining the other two ladies' attention. "Though not incredibly many, I did solve a few barriers back in my own world." She slowly stated, hoping she wasn't sparking too much hope in the other two. "I'm not sure it's the same here, but it's worth a try, right?" She asked them.

They both nodded. "It's all we got right now, so go ahead and try." Rangiku replied, a curious look in her eyes.

Lucy gave a curt nod, then turned her attention to the invisible wall in front of her. It would probably be a little more difficult without the Gale-force reading-glasses and she wasn't Levy, but, well, yeah, it was all they got right now.

She coated her hand in her golden magic and touched the barrier. To her great surprise, she actually saw the exact same thing as she did every time she was faced with a barrier in her own world. Small codes and numbers everywhere in what seemed to be a systematic mess.

She grinned lightly when she saw it. This was nothing even remotely near Freed's runes. "I can do this." She declared, her gaze fixated on the barrier in front of her.

While Rukia was in awe and Rangiku cheered behind her, she focused on rearranging the codes to allow them to slip through. She didn't want to take the whole thing down after all, these people would still need it here.

"And…" She muttered, dragging out the 'A'. "… Voila! We can go through!" She said, smiling at the other two but keeping her magic in steady contact with the barrier - as soon as she let go, it would return back to normal.

Rangiku smiled widely. "You rock, Lucy!" She said excitedly as she slipped through, looking up at the building with a determined expression.

Rukia nodded as she went through as well. "Yes, that was quite impressive." She agreed.

Lucy followed the two. "Thank you, you two." She replied as the barrier fixed itself behind her. Now she was on this side of the barrier, the different reiatsu of the people here felt much more clear. The only two she could recognize were Orihime and Ichigo. The other eight, she couldn't recognize. But… They all felt so dark… Due to half their reiatsu being Hollow, of course. She knew that. She just didn't expect it to be… _This_ dark.

She fought down a shiver as Rangiku stepped forward. "Now let's go see how our little lovebirds are doing, shall we~?" She almost sang, more or less skipping as she went.

Shaking her head lightly, Rukia followed the Lieutenant inside the old building. It looked as run-down on the inside as it did on the outside. Except for the suspiciously shiny metal plate in the middle of the room, it was completely empty. Only dark, wooden walls, floor and ceiling.

As they approached the metal plate, they found that it was indeed what they were looking for. It wasn't just any, old plate, after all. It was a door.

The three girls exchanged gazes, feeling the violent explosions underneath. Whatever that training of Ichigo's entailed, it sure didn't seem to be for the faint of heart. They could even hear the clanging of swords from where they were. But this didn't scare their curiosity away. Not even close.

Without any further delay, Rukia pulled the lid up, revealing the big, open room underneath. It was strange, it almost seemed like a whole different world - a barren desert with a bright sun above it.

She watched impatiently as Rukia went down the stairs as the first one. She quickly hurried after her, letting Rangiku close the door after them as silently as she could.

The people in this place only gradually came into her view. At first, it was a big guy with surprisingly pink hair and green clothes with his back to them. From what she could see, he looked strained with the way he was crouching on the ground and looking intently at something ahead of him.

Right in front of him, a squared, golden and very much visible barrier came into her view. It wasn't as intricate as the one she'd just broken through, but it was much more intense and strong. Though obviously it was only temporary, as it looked like it'd take up a lot of energy. Was the green-clad guy the one keeping that up all by himself?

Getting further down, she understood why. Right outside of the barrier lay four people on the floor - bruised and battered - while a worried Orihime covered them in her healing reiatsu.

Much worse, inside of the barrier three of them were struggling in a battle against… Ichigo?

The orange hair sure looked like it was his, but his face… It was covered by a strange, almost tribal mask. He didn't really seem human at all, he seemed more like a feral predator. Like a Hollow. His reiatsu, she noticed, wasn't even slightly similar to the light one she'd come to recognize as his. It was a much, much more sinister version of it. It was evil, actually.

While his was most definitely the darkest at the moment, he wasn't the only one whose reiatsu wasn't light and kind at the moment. The other three in there with him also wore masks like his, which she guessed enhanced the sinister part of their reiatsu, and were all being overpowered by him.

What was going on down here…?

"Shinji! Get back in here!" One of the people on the inside - a little girl with blonde pigtails, ordered what had to be one of the people on the outside.

One of the ones under Orihime's healing groaned loudly. "I just got out, though. Gimme a break." He asked of the girl. He looked a bit strange, with a pointy, bored face and straight, plain, blonde hair.

The girl blocked with her own when Ichigo hammered his sword down at her. She could barely keep the thick blade away from her forehead. "NOW!" She yelled at 'Shinji'.

But he was already there, kicking Ichigo away with a foot to his cheek. "Got to do everything myself these days, dammit." Shinji grumbled. That was to be the end of their discussion as Ichigo soon bounced back and attacked them again.

Lucy watched the fight with a frown. She had gathered as much as these guys were helping Ichigo get control of the beast he had inside. But this… Wasn't this too extreme? They were all getting hurt over this - there had to be some other way.

When she looked at Ichigo right now, he didn't seem to have an ounce of his kind self in him whatsoever. All she could see was a rampaging beast, looking to sate its own bloodlust. He didn't even seem able to recognize the people he was fighting.

She knew as much as if this failed, he would stay the way he was now. He would never go back to being that kind and strong person she'd come to know him to be… This was way too risky, but she didn't dare even speak up or do anything in fear of it tipping the scales the wrong way.

She was forced out of her worries when a feral roar erupted from the now even more Hollowfied Ichigo. A feral roar, which had no humanity left in it.

Her eyes whipped to the one in green when she heard a gasp from him. Beads of sweat, which had been collecting since even before they showed up, now trailed down his head and dripped to the ground. His focused and gritted teeth told her exactly what was going on with him.

She had to do something… "Rukia, can you help me give that man some energy? He desperately needs it." She asked of the little, black-haired girl. She only had her magic to give and she wasn't too sure that it would be enough to help that guy.

Rukia gave her a sharp nod, having likely seen what was happening as well. As the two hurried down the stairs, they were soon followed by Rangiku. "I'll go help Inoue with healing." She announced quickly.

Barely managing the time to nod as they reached the base of the stairs and split up, she pushed herself to run as fast as possible. Ichigo's reiatsu-levels were rising incredibly high, and the feel of it struck fear in her heart. But she couldn't let something like that stop her - she needed to help these people however she could. This was the only way she could think of.

They reached the man at the same time, placing a palm each flat on his back. He turned to look at them with a jump, surprised by the unexpected touch. "Who are you two?" He asked, more confused than anything else. No, maybe 'shocked' described his expression at the moment better.

Rukia looked into his eyes sternly. "We are here to help. Take our energy." She ordered him without any further explanation as to why they were even there in the first place. That wasn't important in this situation either, so that was fine. They would explain once all this was under control again.

The man gave a quick nod before he turned his attention back to the barrier again. Lucy closed her eyes, forcing her magic out of her body and into the man in front of her.

And quickly enough, the question she had half expected to come came. "W-what is this reiatsu?" He asked, clearly on the edge between being flabbergasted and in awe of it.

She smiled gently. "It's not reiatsu, it's magic." She corrected him, having no doubt it was her foreign energy he was referring to. "Just use it, it should at least offer some sort of help." She said, trying to keep concentrating on giving him a steady supply of it.

"Amazing…" She heard him mutter, bringing a slight flush to her cheeks. While she'd had a few people telling her that recently, she really just couldn't get used to the compliments at all. Especially not on her magic. She flushed every time. Many who knew of it found it to be a cowardly magic, so that didn't gain her a whole lot of compliments…

She had no idea for how long she kept supplying magic and these people kept fighting Ichigo, but it felt like it would never end. Ichigo kept getting stronger and stronger all the time - turning into the exact description Rangiku had given her of Hollows one of the first days. This meant she had to push even more magic out of herself and faster to keep that barrier from crumbling.

If he got out, it would be much more difficult for everyone, so it had to be kept up. No matter what it took. She'd just have to sleep for days afterwards if that was what it would take. Letting Ichigo go like this would mean letting a lot of innocents die by his hands for absolutely no reason.

For every moment that went and passed, he turned more and more Hollow, his mask spreading as the manifestation of this change. In the end, he was more or less covered in it. Two large horns protruded from the sides of his head and pointed forward threateningly. He was covered in white, but with some crimson markings, looking more like blood than anything else.

And finally, his eyes. They turned a frightening shade of yellow, the whites of them now entirely black. Those were the eyes of a beast that wanted to do nothing more than kill.

She almost couldn't fight the bile that rose in her throat at the feeling of his increasingly twisted reiatsu overwhelming her. It was many times darker than even Zeref and Acnologia's. She'd never even imagined anything this evil. It was horrible to know something like this lived inside of Ichigo.

Just as she was about to push out the last 10 percent of the magic that remained in her, the human-turned-Hollow abruptly froze on the spot. She watched, confused, curious and hopeful to see what his next move would be. Or maybe, just maybe, there wouldn't be another one.

The tension in the room rose to immeasurable heights as they all waited anxiously to see what would happen, not a single one of them twitching a muscle.

Then, he fell back - stiff as a log - landing flatly on his back. Almost as if someone had turned him off. As soon as his back hit the ground, the Hollow-mask retracted and finally disappeared altogether, revealing an unconscious Ichigo underneath.

They still waited for a long minute, before she let her shoulders sag and breathed out discretely in relief. It was over. It was finally over.

Exactly what was 'it' though?

Luckily, from the way Shinji slumped down on the ground, she gathered as much as that it wasn't wrong of her to feel relieved in this situation. "God. There better not be any more like this ass. I don't want to have to do this shit again, it's such a drag." He said with obvious exhaustion.

The pigtailed girl glared at him. "Shut up. You clearly enjoyed this." She grumbled, resigning herself to lying on the floor.

Lucy let her hand fall from the big guy's back, stopping the outflux of magic from herself. She wasn't completely depleted of it, but it'd been a long while since it'd been this low.

"Thank you for your assistance - it was much needed." The man said, startling Lucy momentarily. He was looking at both her and Rukia over his shoulder. "But who are you two and how did you get in here?" He asked them, is eyes slightly narrowed.

Looking up, she found them a looking to her, Rukia or Rangiku. Obviously they were aware there weren't any Arrancar or Hollows here, so why were they being this hostile towards them?

Orihime quickly got up. "Don't worry e-everyone. T-They're all friends of ours!" She tried to convince them, pointing to Ichigo for emphasis. Clearly, she was not comfortable in the spotlight.

"Even so, they still broke in here. That's pretty rude, you know." The one called Shinji commented. Though the comment was supposed to be humorous, that was not at all how it came out.

Lucy quickly bowed to them. "Sorry, that was my doing." She apologized. "I made it possible for us to slip through. But the barrier should be back to normal now - should have been as soon as we got through, actually." She quickly explained herself.

"How did you even manage to... 'Slip through'?" The guy in the green clothes asked. "I didn't even feel you doing anything at all." He added. The animosity was gone from him, for now at least, so that was always something.

She gave him a little smile. "I simply rewrote it." She told him. The look he gave her told her this could be a long conversation.

She wasn't the only one who realized this it seemed, as the little girl with the pigtails spoke up. "You can talk about that shit later. What are you people even doing here in the first plac? The training we're doing here is obviously not just for fun." She sternly reminded them from where she was now sitting with her arms and legs crossed on the ground.

Rangiku lit up in a bright smile, throwing an arm around Orihime's shoulder. "We were here to check up on our friends, of course! We had to see what this training you're doing was all about for ourselves - no one's telling us anything, after all." She said with a pout.

She straight up lied to their faces. Orihime hadn't been entirely capable of keeping quiet, so they'd heard a little about what was going on here. They'd literally just come in the hopes of finding her and Ichigo in an awkward situation. That was all.

But, well, that definitely was the better story and excuse, so Lucy didn't mind going with that whatsoever.

"Hm." The pigtailed girl simply replied, looking at the busty Shinigami with something between a glare and a frown.

"Speaking of that training." Rukia said, looking to Ichigo, who was still unconscious and looked like he would be for the next long time. "What exactly does it entail?" She asked them.

Lucy smiled at the insistence in Rukia - it was clear she at least worried for Ichigo. But it wasn't so strange with the history they had together at this point. That said though, Lucy was also curious about it.

Shinji moaned and fell back. "He had to go through that if he wants to control it, if that's what you're asking." He reassured the little, petite Shinigami.

"What happened to him?" She directly asked him, her purple gaze locked on him.

He looked like he wanted groan even louder at her tenacity. He instead rolled his eyes and explained. "He was facing his inner Hollow in a battle in his mind. He obviously won, since he's knocked out cold like this." He said and flicked the poor, unconscious and unknowing guy on the nose to emphasize his words. "Of course, had he lost, we'd had to kill him." He then stated as if that was the most ordinary thing in the word.

While Lucy struggled to even react to that Rukia calmly continued her one-man interrogation. "So why did you have to fight him as well?" She asked him.

Despite not being up for more questions, Shinji replied. "That's just the reaction that comes with battling the inner Hollow. The Hollow'll take over the outward body gradually. Had he not blacked out and won in time, he'd have turned into a Hollow." He explained, then looked at Rukia with his droopy eyes. "That answer enough for you?" He asked.

She nodded curly. "Yes, that is sufficient." She confirmed as thoughts seemed to fly around in her mind as well.

The guy grunted at her reply. "If you're done here, then -"

"You don't mind if I just pop in here for a second, do you?" An unfamiliar man asked. She hadn't seen this guy before, but he looked incredibly suspicious in his green coat and striped hat, which seemed to cast his eyes in shadows. What's more, she was pretty sure he was grinning over there through his blonde hair.

The pigtailed girl groaned loudly. "What the hell's with all these people?!" She almost yelled. A little more, and you'd be able to see the veins bulge out at her forehead.

"We need a new barrier…." The big guy with the green clothes and pink hair mumbled.

The suspicious guy simply laughed. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Had to break the barrier to get in - hope you don't mind. I was trying to be as silent as possible about it, I promise." He said. Just the fact that none of them had even felt him break it was testimony enough to this guy's strength. "Ah, but I just had to come by. I felt this strange - but very much mesmerizing - energy down here and besides, I'd planned to pay you all a visit soon enough. So, two birds with one stone - isn't it great?!" He asked, spreading his arms out wide.

Lucy stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. Even for her standards, this man was crazy. He didn't seem to be aiming to bring harm to any of them either, he was literally just here because his curiosity got the best of him.

"You can go now." The little girl said, not even looking at him. Her arms and legs were still crossed. She would not budge an inch.

The man only smiled as he ignored her. "Okay, so which of you had that beautiful energy I felt?" He asked, looking around at all of them and completely ignoring the hissy-fit the pigtailed girl was throwing.

"Mister Kisuke." Rangiku spoke up, though he didn't even look at her. "Maybe this isn't the grea-"

"Oh, but isn't this a new face I haven't seen before?" He rudely interrupted the Lieutenant as his eyes landed on the blonde mage, who was honestly speechless at the moment. "Who might you be and was it perchance your energy? I felt back there?" He asked, already closing in on her.

She would have moved back if she could, but she was honestly frozen on the spot. "I-I'm Lucy… You're…?" She somehow managed to stutter out.

"A mad scientist!" He announced loudly and proudly.

Orihime had a hand out to stop him, though she was way over at the end of the room. "Please, Urahara, calm own a little." She asked of him, seeing the troubled expression Lucy was undoubtedly wearing at his approach.

Despite her confusion with this man's so straightforward personality, she wasn't in any doubt that the energy he was looking for was indeed her magic. It was obvious - especially because the other noteworthy energies in here probably wouldn't be called 'beautiful'. But then again, who knew what this man thought was beautiful?

The man - Kisuke Urahara, she'd gathered - completely ignored Orihime in favor of breathing out in a deep sigh. "To think that child Captain was keeping something like this from me…" He trailed off, then looked straight at her excitedly. "Please be my test-subject!" He barely didn't yell.

She blinked a pair of times before her mind even started up again. She literally had no clue how to respond to that suggestion. "I…"

Before she even got the chance to reply, he clasped his hands over hers. To her surprise, she felt an invasive force breaking into her system from where their hands touched. He was sending his own reiatsu into her? Why…?

For a moment, he looked extremely focused, but a moment later the carefree expression of his returned along with his reiatsu. "Oh, would you look at that~ Now isn't this interesting?" He asked himself rhetorically.

She looked at him curiously. "What..?" She asked, now also somewhat worried about what he'd found.

"Not only are you able to enhance reiatsu as you just did, you're also able to break it down." He said, a wide and sort of crazy smile spreading on his face. "Truly remarkable - what you couldn't do with powers like that!" He basically said to himself.

Now even more confused than before, she stared at him even more blankly, though she remained silent. Enhance? Break down? … What?

"If that's all you came for, then please go outside, would you?" Shinji loudly asked, clearly not as amused by the conversation as Urahara seemed to be.

She only really listened with a half ear as the strange man literally twirled around to face the one who had to be the leader of this rag-tag bunch.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, my friend." He said in an almost mocking tone.

One Shinji naturally didn't appreciate. "I am not your friend." He harshly shot back.

"Ah, well, perhaps 'friend' is a bit of a strong word, yes." Urahara conceded. "But! You _are_ the enemy of our enemy, so at the very least we are allies in this war." He then said with somewhat of a smirk. Shinji remained silent, allowing the guy to elaborate. "Basically, I came here to make certain of what role you all are going to play in this war." He said, almost none of the usual humor left in his voice.

Shinji frowned. "Yeah, sure, we dislike that bastard just as you do - even more actually. He ruined our damn lives." He agreed slowly, a slight growl to his voice. "But this is the damn Shinigami's war - not ours. We are not Shinigami. Not anymore, thanks to that jerk." He basically growled.

Lucy's eyes whipped from one to the other as she struggled to make sense of the situation before her. She honestly didn't really understand it that well. She couldn't really follow them.

"And there's where you're wrong again." Urahara said knowingly. "It has everything to do with you - you were some of his first attempts, and he surely hasn't forgotten a single one of you. He probably also knows you're staying here, you know." He said as if to remind him of that fact. "Speaking of 'here'…" he said, continuing without giving anyone a chance to say anything. "All of his moves so far have taken place in this little town. By now, it's safe to say he's got something planned for the people here."

"Knowing that bastard, he's probably going to kill everyone off just to gain a bit of power or something like that." The pigtailed girl grumbled, having kept surprisingly silent so far.

Urahara looked to her with a playful smile. "That's exactly what he's going to do." He agreed, to which she only shrugged. "So. Are you just going to let this sweet town you live in die out - your student over there included - or are you going to do something about it, so we can finally be rid of him?" He asked them.

Shinji quickly glanced around at his group, his eyes landing on Ichigo, before returning his gaze to Urahara. For a long moment, they just seemed to stare at each other. Then Shinji sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Goddammit." He grumbled.

Urahara grinned at him. "Glad to hear it." He said, turning around and beginning to walk back towards the entrance. "Well, sorry for the short visit - I'll make sure to make it longer next time - but I have to speak to that child Captain and convince him to convince the Commander to provide some backup over here." He said with a grand smile as he easily waved at all of them.

Everyone remained entirely silent, watching as the guy slowly ascended the stairs and disappeared onto the upper floor. When the door closed behind him, they all dared to look around at each other. The general reaction to his absence seemed to be relief.

That was until the door was pulled aside violently and is head peeked through once again, staring straight at Lucy. "I expect you to come by my place before noon tomorrow, by the way." He yelled to her before promptly closing the door again.

All she could manage was to blink.

* * *

Through the haze of her slumber, she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. "Wakey, wakey, Kitten." She heard an incredibly familiar voice call out to her. But who was it again…?

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to clear the haze, which made the figure above her blurry. But her eyelids only seemed to get heavier. Must have been the depletion of her magic that got her this tired.

"Please, do excuse us for the intrusion, however it is time for you to come back." A terrifyingly smooth voice added.

Her eyes flew open as all alarm-clocks went blaring in her head. Something was most definitely wrong. It was in the middle of the night. Why were there people in her room?

The one who had spoken last stood further back, looking at her with his sharp, brown eyes and his arms crossed. Though his hair was slicked back and he'd dropped his glasses, his was a face she would always be able to recognize.

The one who'd woken her up she also recognized, though for entirely different reasons. She would never forget that blue hair and the blue eyes, neither the remainder of the mask at the side of his face.

Right in front of her were Aizen and Grimmjow. The enemy's leader and one of his strongest fighters. The one who killed her and the one who appeared in her dreams.

* * *

 **Well, well, well. Looks like Lucy's week at Earth is all up~**

 **To think I actually thought I would never be able to make the content I had planned for this chapter fill the 5.000 words I always shoot for. I judged that wrongly for sure.**

 **So. We learned today that her magic both enhances and breaks down. Not so surprisingly, both of these things are very important and have both appeared a few times throughout the story. Wonder when, eh?**

 **Alas, one also has to wonder what'll happen next, no? Will her connection to Ichigo and company be strong enough to keep her from going to this war against them or is her loyalty to the place she has lived in for so long too strong? What will even happen to her now?**

 **Well, I of course hope you all enjoyed this installment of Life after Death! Thanks a lot for reading, following, favoriting and commenting!**

 **~Line464d**


	18. Chapter 18 - For the ones we Love

**Chapter 18 - For the ones we Love**

 **Ah, yes. I have my doubts all of you read the top section here, which is the reason I'll just drop this here; We're approaching the last third of the story as it looks now (got it all planned out, of course~). I hope you all will bear with me throughout this as well - things'll be speeding up from now!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!  
Disclaimer: Nope, just borrowing the two stories. So neither are, obviously (?), mine. **

* * *

Suddenly, she realized the situation she was in. For a long second, her heart and mind completely froze as she looked at the men before her with wide eyes.

With the second passed and gone, she jolted out of her covers and flew to the back wall, desperately pressing her back to it in hopes of escaping.

She could hardly even breathe under the pressure their mere presences exuded - not to mention their reiatsu. Her heart hammered in her chest as her eyes flew from one to the other.

Being faced with the both of them now, she finally realized how idiotic her ambitions and hopes for what she would do to these men were.

Aizen alone had been far out of her league when he killed her - why had she been convinced things would be any different now?

She only very shortly dared to remove her eyes from their amused faces to the door to her right. It was only a moment though, before they returned to the two.

Grimmjow let his hand rest at his hip as he looked at her as though something about this whole situation was absolutely hilarious to him. "You know you won't make that, Kitten." He said, simply watching her with his cocky smirk. The nickname did absolutely nothing to calm her down whatsoever.

She looked at him, then quickly away. He was right. Of course he was. Both of these two could reach her well before she even took the first step towards that door.

Almost involuntarily, her eyes then flickered to the left. An empty bed meant for Rangiku was all she saw.

"Yep, made sure she wasn't around as well." Grimmjow confirmed her suspicions. "She's out on some patrol or something - so too far away to 'save' your ass." He elaborated, a terrifyingly knowing grin on his face.

She could only stare at him with wide eyes. What was she supposed to do now?

She hadn't reached even the slightest hint towards a conclusion when Aizen spoke up again. "That is enough of your games now, Grimmjow. We are not here to have fun - we have business to take care of, so return it to her." He ordered the blue-haired Arrancar.

Said Arrancar grumbled something under his breath before loosening one of the tools at his hip. No, 'weapons' was a more accurate description of them. "Catch this." He said and then threw it at her.

Out of pure reflex, she actually caught it. It seemed to be a strange whip of some sort - lethal to be sure.

No sooner had she caught it before it seemed to burn in her hands. Not with fire, but with a foreign mix of reiatsu, which forced its way under her skin. It wasn't like with Urahara - that just felt strange - this created a path of searing pain wherever it went. And it wasn't going out again.

Her breath and voice were caught in her throat, forcing her to scream out her agony with no sound. She couldn't drop the whip, her body wasn't responding to her at all.

What were they doing to her? What did they want?

Through the pain, she could hear a growl erupting from deep in Grimmjow's throat. "Aizen." He growled, slowly turning to the other guy. "What the hell is this? You promised me this shit wouldn't fucking hurt her!"

Aizen sighed audibly. "No, I said it _probably_ wouldn't hurt her." He corrected the Arrancar. "But, well, she's always been a little different from the rest of us, hasn't she?" He asked knowingly.

She had absolutely no clue what the two were going on about, it didn't make any sense. She had no chance to figure it out though, as the invasive reiatsu reached her head.

She gasped loudly as a new sensation appeared. It felt like the reiatsu was going through her brain, poking and prodding it wherever it could.

With the pointy whip clutched in her hand painfully, her hands flew to her head automatically. She could feel her legs giving in under her, unable to hold her own weight any longer.

She'd hardly even begun her fall towards the floor as a strong arm was already wrapped around her waist, pressing her against a firm chest. "Fucking hell…" She faintly heard Grimmjow rumble in her ear. At the moment, she couldn't find it in her to care, it was all that kept her from the ground. And, despite everything it should be, it just felt so incredibly safe. "This has goddamn better be worth it." He then warned Aizen.

Anymore she didn't hear as pictures and visions in no particular order flashed behind her yes. She didn't get the chance to figure out what the first was before the next had already taken over. With each new one, a fierce headache, unlike any other she could remember having had, grew.

With each vision came a new set of a myriad of different emotions, all mixed together. And, just like the visions, each set came and went as quickly, each pair seemingly lodging themselves in her brain. And it continued…

And continued…

And continued…

And continued…

Until it felt like her brain was going to explode with all the new things that were stuffed into it. Suddenly, it stopped, just like that.

She finally got the chance to breathe in shakily, trying to understand what was happening. "What's… Going on with me?" Asked such a meek and tiny voice.

She felt herself getting squeezed lightly, only now realizing she had her forehead resting against Grimmjow's bare chest and was clutching his shirt with one hand, the whip in her other and now very bloody hand. But she just couldn't let the thing go. "Don't worry about it, Kitten. This shit'll be over in just a second. You can fight through it." The soft rumble of his voice promised her.

He'd barely finished that as a new onslaught began. This one was different though. It took all the things she had just seen, lined them up and played through them all in fast-forward.

She quickly found out that what she was being shown were memories - her own memories. This was of times she couldn't remember, because they had been taken from her. No, more accurately; memories she'd given up. Given up for the man who was now holding her close.

Something so precious for something… So much more precious.

Though a little reluctantly, she pushed away from Grimmjow again. It had been nice as long as it lasted. But it'd also been right in front of their extremely calculating boss.

However that little action of moving just the tiniest bit caused her headache to flare up again, reminding her that it was still there. It felt strange, honestly. Like her 'old' and 'new' self were merging together, sort of…

She groaned as a hand flew to the side of her head in a weak attempt to fight it. She saw Grimmjow shift in front of her, so she quickly brushed him off. "I'll be all right, it's just a little headache." She promised him. Probably the understatement of the year, but it was true. She would be all right. Eventually. With that, she smiled lightly up at him. "Just don't let me do this shit ever again." She asked of him.

A grunt of laughter escaped him as a smirk grew on his face. "I'll chain you to the goddamn wall if I have to." He promised her. He clearly didn't want to admit it, but he was relieved to know she was okay after all of this.

She shook her head at him, then turned to Aizen with the smirk she'd mastered since she was just a little girl at her father's estate, bowing lightly. "Aizen, I apologize for the… Pitiful sight you had to see just now." She said. The person she had used to be, the person they met when they stepped into this room, was something of a coward. But she was still a part of who Lucy was even now - the very core. And she did not like having shown this man such a weak wide of herself.

He smiled his easy smile. "Oh, that isn't a problem. It was to be expected after what you have surely been told of us by the people stationed here." He said, looking like he almost found it amusing.

She nodded faintly. It was true, everyone - and especially the Captain Commander - had told her enough to make her fear the man. But that wasn't what had made her fly straight to the wall. It was his oppressive presence, which had done that to her. Well, the both of them did, really.

"Either way, have you gathered any noteworthy intel during your stay here?" He then asked her. "Oh, and I hope you had a… Pleasant stay here." He added slowly.

She looked at him a little strangely. Weird of him to say that. "Yeah… It was all right." She slowly replied, then quickly skipped on to the first question. "And yes, I have most certainly gathered some information while here." She confirmed.

She dove down into her memories once again, trying to find anything she had been told this past week, which would be of importance. While Ichigo had been right when he said a spy who didn't know what to look for wouldn't be able to get all the gold nuggets, she couldn't avoid getting at least one or two.

However, as soon as she attempted that, hear head fought back with a burst of pain. "Gah…"

Aizen looked at her with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "For now, anything that may change how we should act here will suffice." He told her. "You should not push yourself too much in your current state."

She smiled lightly at him. "Thank you, Aizen." She said. It really made things easier for her. "Then, most importantly, there is Ichigo Kurosaki." She said.

"Would've easily beaten him last time if I hadn't decided to play around. He can't have changed enough to have become a problem." Grimmjow cut in confidently.

She wasn't at all surprised to hear that from him. "A lot had happened this week, believe me." She argued.

Aizen crossed his arms. Ichigo had never been his favorite topic of discussion. "Let us hear it, then." He ordered.

She nodded. "He has undergone strenuous training this past week with a group which calls themselves 'Visored'. I gather you have a little bit of history with them?" She asked encouragingly. She still hadn't figured those guys out, and she was curious to know exactly what their connection to Aizen was.

With a little laugh, he nodded. "Oh, yes. It's many years ago though - a thousand or so. For now, they are nothing for us to worry about." He promised the two of them - not revealing a single thing as he went.

She sighed inwardly. Looked like she'd have to figure that out herself. But that wasn't going to be right now. "Just like them, as I'm sure you know, he has also struggled with a Hollow side to himself. Just earlier today, I witnessed his gaining control of it. Compared to the Ichigo from a week ago, this one will be much more powerful. I don't know how much, but it will not be a little change." She explained, feeling her headache flaring up again as she spoke. She really just hoped they'd be able to get back without any incidents so she could sleep this off.

Aizen looked at her with a frown. "I see… I was not aware he was like those Visored.. He must have gotten it when he became a Shinigami. Or perhaps this is that Kisuke's doing…" He mumbled the last part to himself. "Well, this is indeed important information. Good job." He commended her.

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you." She said. It wasn't really like she'd worked all that hard for the information, but she didn't mind the compliments. "There is one more thing as well." She added quickly. "I am not sure how much of a change it will make, however I feel that it is enough to at least be brought up." She said. Aizen nodded, telling her to continue. "It is Ichigo's friend, Orihime Inoue." She started out, digging her nails into her palm as she fought the pain in her head.

Grimmjow looked at her strangely. "Wait. Isn't she that chick who always hangs around carrot-top?" He asked. For a moment, she wondered how he'd know the girl, but figured he might either have been told of what Ulquiorra found while at Earth and keeping track of her or might have even met the girl when he was at Earth himself. She hadn't heard a lot of that time, after all. Either way, she nodded. "Please. She's weak as hell - why're you even bothering with her?" He rudely asked.

Lucy raised a brow as she looked at him, feeling offended in Orihime's place. "Don't judge a book by its cover, Grimmjow." She warned him before turning to Aizen again. "It is true her fighting capabilities are not on par with even the weakest of our soldiers." She then admitted. "However, she is very capable in the field of barriers and is an absolutely extraordinary healer. I have never seen anything like what she can do. It is even more effective than high-speed regeneration." She explained. She looked up at the leader of the Arrancar army in an effort to gauge what he thought.

He looked down at her blankly - a face she had come to recognize as his thinking-face." I see. That is indeed interesting." He agreed slowly as his he made the final decision. "All right, we will bring her with us to Hueco Mundo. If nothing else, we will be robbing the Shinigami of one of - if not the - best healer in their alliance." He announced.

Lucy nodded stiffly. If Orihime was found to be of any use to Aizen, he would not hurt her - and they didn't really have any healers in the army as it was right now. She would be safe. And Lucy would do everything in her power to keep it that way. She owed the girl that much at least.

With that decided and seeing as Lucy had nothing more to mention at the moment, he gave them a curt nod. "I will make arrangement with Ulquiorra for the human girl. Head back to our rendezvous-point as fast as you can." He ordered, sending them both a pointed look before disappearing out of the open window.

She breathed out heavily and relaxed her clenched fists, leaning back against the wall again exhaustedly. This had been a seriously long day, she could not wait for it to be over already.

Grimmjow looked at her with a raised brow - much like the one she'd given him a moment ago. "So… How does it feel to rat your cute, little friends out like that, Kitten?" He asked her amusedly.

She glared at him. "You asshole." She said with absolutely no conviction in her voice. "You know that he'd be suspicious if I didn't say anything." She said, then tipped her head back till it collided with the wall, looking up at the ceiling of the young girl's home. "Besides, as long as Aizen sees an advantage to keeping her around, she will not be harmed the slightest." She reminded him.

Aizen rather preferred that his subjects - no matter what kind of subjects they were - actually wanted to help him out than to force them to with brute force. The motivation to help varied, though.

He rolled his eyes amusedly. "Sure, if that's what you want to believe." She said. His gaze then rose from her eyes to the top of her head, where he paused for a while. "You know." He said, reaching out to one stray strand of her hair, letting it lie against his fingers. "I prefer those curls of yours to this. They'd better come back." He commented almost threateningly.

She huffed in laughter at the unusual comment. She hadn't been away for that long, had she? "New hair; new me, as they say." She said, then smiled at his confused look. She ran her fingers though her hair, pushing the worst of the strays behind her mask's remnants - including the one he'd been playing with. "Don't worry the curls will be back by tomorrow or so." She reassured him.

"That's good." He simply replied before a silence fell between them as they just stared at each other. Something they had not been able to do for quite some time now.

The corners of her lips turned upwards as she remembered where he had been staying the past week. "So how have things been at Harribel's?" She asked him, entirely aware he'd probably have preferred to stay somewhere out in the vast desert if he had the option.

His face twisted in exasperation "Like hell. Damn those girls can be noisy - especially that tiny one. And they argue loudly all the fucking time." He grunted, remembering it all, she was sure. "Didn't get any proper damn sleep the entire fucking week."

She smiled lightly. "Well, that makes two of us then." She admitted. "I couldn't really sleep properly here either." She said, looking down at the futon she'd been borrowing. "It would seem that even though I didn't, my body still remembered everything." She said, throwing her arms around herself without thinking of it. She looked up at him again with a raw smile. "I missed you, Grim."

She saw him following her gaze down to the futon, then felt his on her shortly after. "Yeah, missed you too, Kitten." He said with a tenderness she rarely heard in him.

But… She'd feel so lonely as well if their roles had been reversed. Not only would she be without him - and unable to even see if he was okay - she'd also be without those five. His Fracción. And he couldn't even be at the place he called 'home' either. She could hardly even imagine exactly how lonely this week must have been for him.

So, without having to think long and hard about it, she stepped forward and into him, wrapping her arms around his torso. She pressed herself as close as she could, nuzzling her head against his familiar, chiseled chest.

She could feel the surprise in him at her action through the tension in his muscles and simply waited for him to say something. "Uhh… Kitten..?" He asked her with a low voice.

The corners of her lips turned upwards again. "Sorry, it seems I haven't gotten all of my old, 'friendship-is-magic'-self out of the system yet. Just let me stay like this a little longer." She asked of him.

Maybe that was true enough, but it wasn't the entire truth. She'd just wanted to do this for a very long time, but only now got it done. Earlier, she hadn't known why, but after this week she was certain.

She knew, with the way the emptiness had been filled in her heart when she saw him in her visions that night, that what she felt for this fierce tomcat of hers might be a little more than she had thought it was.

Her smile broadened when she felt his one arm wrap around her waist as well. "All right, then." He agreed slowly as he dropped his chin on top of her head - between the two cat-ears. She could even feel his mask resting on her scalp lightly.

She couldn't even remember a time where they had done this, but she didn't care to look too hard for it. Because right now, her head didn't hurt the slightest.

* * *

But that was when she heard a pair of male voices in the room - ones she didn't recognize. But once feeling their reiatsu, she had no doubts about which side they belonged to.

There were two in there and both of them were strong Arrancar. It was only one of them she recognized, but that was already enough to make her terrified for her life.

It was Grimmjow.

And as far as she could sense, Rangiku wasn't even in the room at all - she was probably out on one of her patrols or something. So it was just Lucy in there, standing face-to-face with two of their strongest enemies.

She swallowed a gasp as she realized something. They had come for Lucy. They knew the blonde woman came from another world and had magic - they'd come to bring her along to their world.

What could she do in this situation? She wasn't much of a fighter - she usually left that part to Ichigo. She couldn't hope to face Grimmjow _and_ someone else, even if Lucy was with her… She couldn't do anything for the blonde.

But the situation only got worse as she found out who that other person was.

"Aizen…" Grimmjow growled in there. She could hardly hear him, but it was enough. She was forced to swallow another gasp. "What the hell is this? You promised me this shit wouldn't fucking hurt her!" He continued to growl.

Orihime was too caught up in the fact that Aizen was in there and that Lucy was hurting to fully comprehend what Grimmjow's comment also revealed. What was going on in there? Were they already extracting Lucy's magic? What was she supposed to do, what was she supposed to do?

"No, I said it _probably_ wouldn't hurt her." The voice of the man she learned was Aizen corrected Grimmjow. "But, well, she has always been a little different from the rest of us, hasn't she?" He asked knowingly.

Orihime's eyes widened. He knew. He definitely knew about Lucy.

She heard Grimmjow say something else, but it was far too low for her to could tell what it was. "This had goddamn better be worth it." She then heard him grumble.

"Don't worry, it will be. No matter whether her memories have been taken from her or not, she is still a sharp woman - you should know that better than I do." Aizen replied, an edge to his voice.

Grimmjow grumbled audibly. "Just because you've dragged her into that room, played your fucking mind-games on her and have now fucked with her damn memories doesn't mean you're better than me, you fucking bastard. I know Lucy far better than you ever will." He told the other guy dangerously, though it only earned him a laugh.

Orihime frowned as she scrambled to make sense of what they even talked about. She had an idea, but she really didn't want to believe that to be true.

Their conversation was halted as a high-pitched version of Lucy's voice spoke up suddenly. "What's… Going on with me?" Orihime could hear the blonde ask from in there. She sounded so terrified, something that really didn't suit the otherwise bubbly blonde. Orihime honestly just wanted to jump in there and stop them from doing what they were doing to her immediately. But she knew nothing good would come of that - she would just get herself killed. If she was lucky.

"Don't worry about it, Kitten. This shit'll be over in just a second. You can fight through it." She faintly heard Grimmjow encourage the blonde from the other side of the wall.

'Kitten'. That was a nickname, and one he spoke with the kind of tone you wouldn't expect an enemy to use. And so, her fears were confirmed.

Renji had been right. Lucy was a spy from Hueco Mundo, from Aizen. And she had so easily wormed her way into all of them with that kind smile and that warm personality of hers. Or maybe… Was it just a façade all along? Had she played them all for a fool? Certainly, none of them expected it, with all that she revealed about herself as well.

It had just all seemed so genuine all the way through - she had really been so nice. She was so easy to talk and relate to, and they had done it so often on their breaks. She even bypassed Captain Hitsugaya's sharp eyes.

Orihime gently shook her head. It just… Couldn't be true. Not Lucy. They were doing something to her in there as well, and Grimmjow had mentioned mind-games and memories. Yeah, that explained it.

As she tuned back to the conversation again, knowing all she could do was listen as intently as she could, she did so, just so her heart could be shattered all over again. "Yes, I have most certainly gathered some information while here." She heard the blonde confirmed with an uncharacteristically steady voice. It sounded as if she hadn't just been in such terror a moment ago. This was not the Lucy she'd gotten to know, that was for sure.

The blonde's words were followed by a groan soon after, revealing that whatever they'd put her through hadn't worn off just yet. "For now, anything that may change how we act here will suffice." Aizen helpfully said. "You should not push yourself too much in your current state." He added. Judging from how he spoke, it was clear that Lucy wasn't just any of his subordinates - which probably also was the reason he'd trusted her with this mission.

Now Orihime felt it, it was also clear that Lucy was much more powerful now than she'd been just a mere moment ago. But her reiatsu, though greater, was also all the darker. Especially in comparison to the extremely gently nature especially her magic seemed to have. How this change was even possible, she had no clue. But that wasn't what really bothered her…

Was Lucy actually one of the Espada?

"Thank you, Aizen." Lucy calmly replied to the traitorous Shinigami… Who was the one, who had killed her. "Then, most importantly, there is Ichigo Kurosaki" She quickly followed up.

Orihime's eyes widened as she pressed her ear against the wall. Was she really going to tell these guys everything? After what they'd already been through this week? Was she really just going to betray all of them like that?

"Would've easily beaten him last time if I hadn't decided to play around. He can't have changed enough to have become a problem." Grimmjow grunted confidently.

She could almost hear the roll in Lucy's eyes as she replied. "A lot has happened this week, believe me." She told him.

"Let us hear it, then." Aizen said, sounding irritated.

"He has undergone strenuous training this past week with a group which calls themselves 'Visored'. I gather you have a little bit of history with them?" Lucy asked.

Orihime sighed internally, the last of her hopes for Lucy's loyalty fallen to the ground. She was really going to betray them just like that. She was going to tell them everything she knew that would give them an advantage. And she'd do so willingly.

She was broken out of her worries when she heard a chilling laugh from in there. "Oh, yes. It's many years ago though - a thousand or so. For now, they are nothing for us to worry about." Aizen said, sounding almost amused. What about this situation was amusing to him?

Lucy quickly continued with her explanation. "Just like them, as I'm sure you know, he has also struggled with a Hollow side to himself. Just earlier today, I witnessed his gaining control of it. Compared to the Ichigo from a week ago, this one will be much more powerful. I don't know how much, but it will not be a little change."

One of them in there grumbled something that was too low for Orihime to could hear. She guessed that it was Aizen though, as he was the one to speak up next. "Well, this is indeed important information. Good job."

"Thank you." Lucy quickly replied, a hint of pride in her voice. "There is one more thing as well." She then quickly added. She had more she could tell already? This was a really bad situation… "I am not sure how much of a change it will make, however I feel that it is enough to at least be brought up." She paused shortly. "It is Ichigo's friend, Orihime Inoue."

A hand flew to Orihime's mouth as she tried her bet to stay silent. Lucy mentioned her? What could she possible tell these guys that was of any importance at all? - She wasn't strong like everyone else here.

And Grimmjow clearly agreed with her thoughts. "Wait. Isn't she that chick who always hangs around carrot-top?" He asked, pausing shortly as he got his silent reply, before snorting. "Please, she's weak as hell - why're you even bothering with her?" He brutally asked the blonde.

Though Orihime agreed and knew that to be true, she couldn't help the stings of pain she felt at being looked down at so much. And besides, she didn't hang around Ichigo all the time.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Grim." Lucy said with a little extra sharpness to her. In any other situation, the defense would have touched her. But now she was just getting scared for her own life. Meanwhile, Lucy easily continued as though Grimmjow hadn't said anything. "It is true her fighting capabilities are not on par with even the weakest of our soldiers." Orihime fought against the stinging once again. "However, she is very capable in the field of barriers and is an absolutely extraordinary healer. I have never seen anything like what she can do. It is even more effective than high-speed regeneration." She said. The compliments both warmed Orihime's heart and scared her half to death.

"I see." That is indeed interesting." Aizen agreed slowly.

Orihime didn't need to hear any more to know she had to get away from here as fast as she possibly could. She needed to get Ichigo up before they could kill him in his sleep.

Being as silent as she possibly could about it, she pushed the window above her bed open as they continued to talk in the other room. Soundlessly, she slipped out of it and into the garden. She breathed in sharply as her bare left and feet met with the cold, night air.

She had to ignore it, no matter how much she froze. She had to get to Ichigo before they did.

Luckily, by now, she would be able to get to his house from her own with her eyes closed. So the fact that there was nothing more than the dim, silver moonlight didn't bother her the slightest as she ran faster than she'd ever done before. Her bare feet barely even touched the icy pavement as she flashed through street after street.

It took only a single minute for her to reach the all too familiar house of the Kurosaki's. She didn't want to have to wake the rest of his family unnecessarily, so she sneaked into their garden and around to the window to his room.

At times like these, it really did come in handy that she knew of his habit of keeping the window open as he slept.

She slowly pulled it and the curtain aside, seeing the man sprawled out in the bed in something that seemed too crazy to be natural. She shook her head and giggled lowly at the ridiculous sight before her.

With a sudden blush, she realized she would have to do this another time - hopefully without this sneaking around though. For now, she had to wake him up.

She first attempted knocking at the window, but that only made him turn away in his sleep. Next, she tried to call out to him. "Ichigo…?" She whisper-yelled at him, getting no real reaction from him. "Ichigo, you have to wake up!" She said a little louder, still inciting absolutely no reaction from him.

She sighed with a soft smile. Well, this was to be expected - he always had been an incredibly heavy sleeper.

Pushing down any embarrassment she might have from this situation, she crawled into his room as carefully as she could. Gulping lightly, she approached him. Slowly, carefully, she touched his shoulder. "Ichigo. Please wake up." She asked of him. Every moment wasted meant letting Aizen get closer to completing his nefarious plans and getting one step closer to their defeat. She couldn't be the cause of their defeat in this war. With her eyebrows knit together, she took a firm grip on his shoulder and began shaking him. "Ichigo! Wake up!" She said loudly - at least considering the dead silence of the night. One she feared wouldn't be much longer.

This time, she also had success.

He sat right up, looking around in bewilderment before his warm, brown eyes finally landed on her. "Orihime? What are you doing here?" He asked her with a hoarse voice from having been woken up.

"Ichigo, you have to get up - Aizen and Grimmjow are here! And they're taking Lucy with them to Hueco Mundo!" She told him, one word stumbling over the other in her haste.

Ichigo looked at her, blinking owlishly as he understood just about zero percent of what she had just told him. "What..?" He then asked.

Orihime breathed in deeply, calming herself before speaking again. "Renji was right - Lucy was a spy of Aizen's. I think they took her memories and just dropped her here that day… But now they're here to bring her back!" She told him slowly. No matter how many times she said it out loud, it was still so hard to believe Lucy hadn't been who Orihime had thought she'd be.

"Shit." Ichigo cursed, twisting his feet out of the bed and onto the floor. "Worked well enough for them too, dammit." He almost growled.

Orihime nodded sadly. Yes, they had all trusted her. She'd just seemed like such a genuine person. She knew so much already. It was horrible…

He got up to his feet suddenly. "Orihime, go get Shinji and the others. Toshiro, Rangiku and Renji will notice this soon if they haven't already." He told her, turning to his closet. "Rukia, we're going. Now." He then said.

While Rukia jumped right out of the closet, in which she strangely preferred to sleep, already ready for the battle ahead, Orihime nodded. "Yes, I will do that." She said, leaving the two to head out.

She dashed out on the streets again, only to stop a few blocks down, when she felt a chilling presence behind her. "Orihime Inoue." A terrifyingly empty voice said ahead of her, freezing her to the spot. "That is you, is it not?" The voice continued as the impossibly pale face and stark, green eyes of the owner appeared from the shadows.

She wasn't even able to reply as the feeling of his sinister reiatsu washed over her and he stepped out of the shadows entirely. She knew this man… He and that big one were the first ones to appear here. He was an Espada.

He stared at her blankly, clearly not surprised by her lack of reply as he approached her slowly. "You have a choice to make, Orihime Inoue." He told her, his eyes not straying from hers even for a second. "It is quite simple, really" He said, coming to a stop right in front of her. "One, you come with us to Las Noches willingly and do anything Aizen may ask you to do." He said.

She couldn't tear her eyes away, that's how scared she was at the moment. Scared of what the second option would be, to make her want to consider the first.

He continued unflinchingly. "Two. You refuse and we make sure to rip apart every single person you have ever cared for right in front of you until you come with us." He said, taking a step forward as she took small ones backwards. "Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin, Ururu Tsumugiya, Jinta Hanakari." He started off mentioning the ones around her at the moment, making her tremble lightly in fear. "Your human friends; Uryu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, Chizuru Honsho, Tatsuki Arisawa, Keigo Asano, Mizuiro Kojima, Don Kanonji." He continued, each name making the hair on her arms and neck rise. How… How did he know all these people? How did he know her classmates? Had he been watching them all this time without anyone noticing…?! "Their families; Karin Kurosaki, Yuzu Kurosaki, Ishida Kurosaki, Mizu-"

"STOP!" She screamed at him, clasping her hands over her ears desperately, brought to the edge of tears just through him mentioning all those names. The names of innocent people, who might die because of her.

"Everyone you may hold dear, without fail. Until you are completely alone." He brutally continued despite her plea.

"Stop.. Please… Just stop." She begged him, the tears from earlier now streaming down her cheeks. She saw him doing exactly what he promised in her mind - ripping her friend apart right in front of her. Limb from limb. Over and over again. Screaming. Crying. Calling her name. Blaming her. Blood everywhere. "Please.. Make it stop..!" She begged him, falling to her knees right there. "I'll do anything! Just stop it!"

But in reality, she knew he was not the one creating these imagines in her mind, it was all her…

"You have made your decision, then?" He coldly asked her, which didn't at all help calm her down or stop her from seeing what she did.

She nodded desperately. "Yes! Yes, I will go with you!" She promised him. "Please, just make this stop." She cried.

"You have 24 hours." He said, completely ignoring her pleas. It wasn't like he could do anything about it, though. "That will give you enough time to say your goodbyes. Meet me here at exactly this time." He ordered, turning around to walk away. He then stopped. "Oh, and I suggest you drop getting those Visored. You will never be in time. Your last time here is better spent making sure no one dies." He said ominously.

Moments later, he vanished into the shadows again, leaving Orihime to collapse to the ground as she cursed her own fate.

* * *

Lucy groaned in pain. "Goddammit, Grim." She growled at the guy. "Be a little more gentle, will you?" She ordered him.

"Well, do excuse me for not being able to provide the ride the princess desires." He snapped right back sarcastically, making sure to jostle her around just a little more.

She breathed out harshly in frustration. If only she could've walked herself instead of literally having to be thrown over this guy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. But she couldn't - just taking a single step hurt her poor head much more than being carried like this did, so she didn't have a choice. And he knew that too, clearly.

Besides that one jostle though, he was really being careful though, so she wasn't really in the right to berate him for it right now - he could've also just spared himself the trouble and let her figure it out on her own, after all. She just couldn't help it. Her mood seemed to have stepped into a bottomless pitfall as soon as they stepped out of Orihime's house.

Apparently, they were supposed to meet with Aizen and Ulquiorra as soon as possible right outside of the city before going back. Basically to make sure everything was as it should be.

Which was stupid, because that gave Toshiro and Rangiku - who were still out patrolling - all the chances in the world to catch wind of them. They probably had already, honestly.

"Oh, there you are - that's good." She heard Aizen said from ahead of them. Well, at least they had reached the checkpoint… "Now then, all we need is Ulquiorra. I am guessing he is speaking with that human girl as we speak." He said.

"So… Basically he'll be done in a second?" Grimmjow asked. Luckily for all of them, Ulquiorra could be very convincing when he wanted to be, so they probably didn't have to wait long. Her patience was wearing out.

Before the former Shinigami got the chance to reply to that, a sharp voice cut them off. "Aizen. What are you doing here?" The familiar voice yelled.

She sagged from where she lay over Grimmjow's shoulder. Damnit. And here she thought they might get back home without any incidents. She didn't want to do this right now…

"Oh, Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto. Been a while, hasn't it?" He asked them calmly. She didn't have to look to know his 'pleasant' smile was gracing his face as fake as ever.

"Hey… Is that Lucy you got over your shoulder? Put her down you Hollow trash!" Lucy could hear Rangiku order Grimmjow as the both of them probably came running towards the three.

Once again, Lucy sighed. She really just… Didn't want to do this.

"Oh, gladly. Then I'll come kick your ass, that okay with you, bitch?" He called back to the Lieutenant, already lowering the blonde to the ground.

None-too-gently, she was dropped on her side, sending a shockwave rushing throughout her. She growled under her breath. "For fuck's sake, Grim. What did I _just_ tell you?" She hissed at him, slightly out of breath.

He looked down at her, basically sighing with his eyes. "Oh, I am so sorry, Kitten. Want me to blow on it?" He asked her, pouting for extra mockery.

She glared at him. "Fuck you." She spat, kicking out after him, but missing entirely.

Despite the words used, it was pretty much obvious none of them held any real threat behind any of them. That was just the usual banter between them, which had returned as soon as they'd left the house.

But of course it would confuse the two Shinigami, who now didn't understand the situation the slightest bit. "Uhm… What's..?" Rangiku trailed off. In the time Lucy'd been here, she had not cursed a single time - no matter how tired or angry she seemed to be. Now, she'd just done it more than once without that much prodding for it.

Aizen, seemingly amused by this situation - which wasn't at all surprising - smiled at the Shinigami. "It would seem you should have listened to Lieutenant Abarai back when you were on that roof." He told them, easily proving the fact that he had indeed been listening in. Through Ulquiorra, likely.

Hitsugaya immediately understood what he meant. "Goddammit… Shit, this is bad." He ground out somehow. Rangiku didn't seem to have understood yet though, so he quickly summed it up. "She was a spy all along."

Rangiku gasped while Lucy made absolutely sure not to meet any of their eyes. "But… How co-"

"It doesn't matter." Hitsugaya sharply told her, drawing his sword swiftly. "Our mission remains the same no matter which side she is on - she cannot fall into Aizen's hands." He told her.

Rangiku - though with reluctance - also drew her sword. "All right…" She replied a little slowly.

Lucy, knowing she wouldn't be anything but a bother in this fight, crawled out of their way and sat with her back to a fence, digging her hands into her hair and massaging her scalp just a little. As of right now, she had no doubts in her mind who were the strongest team here. She just had to wait a bit and she'd be able to get back to Hueco again.

Well, or so she though.

That was until Ichigo and Rukia came running. "Hitsugaya, Rangiku! You two take Aizen, we'll take care of Grimmjow!" He yelled at them, his oversized sword already drawn.

She sighed, feeling absolutely helpless - the worst feeling she knew. Aizen could handle himself, probably. If he took out Rangiku quickly, then he'd just have to deal with Hitsugaya. Grimmjow, though… With the lost arm and Ichigo's recent power-up, she actually wasn't sure how this battle of theirs would end.

She could even hear him growl from here, though he clearly didn't have a doubt in his mind that he'd be the victor in this battle. "Come at me, you fuckers. I'll kill you this time." He promised them.

"Grimmjow." Aizen called out almost happily. "You know that order of mine's still active. You cannot kill the human." He told the former Espada.

Grimmjow only growled even louder at that. "Fuck that shit, this bastard's going to die and so is everyone else here." He told the other guy directly. A silent 'you're gonna pay for what you did' was written in his blazing eyes.

"Don't get too cocky, Grim…" She whispered to herself, knowing she shouldn't interrupt him right now. She didn't want to make an unnecessary opening for Ichigo and Rukia.

She couldn't just sit here and do nothing, though. She'd done that way too many times in her life already. But that was when she couldn't fight. Now she could, so she shouldn't just watch from the sidelines any longer.

With a deep breath, she heaved herself off the ground. With a firm grip on the fence behind her, she managed to push herself to her feet. It felt like her whole body was being stressed out by the new reiatsu it had been given. Her head was even worse, as it was still only figuring out that those things which had been stuffed into it were meant to stay.

Maybe it wasn't so surprising… It was a lot of things it had to do all at once. And besides that, she had also used up a hell of a lot of magic earlier, containing Ichigo. So she really didn't have a lot of herself to give.

She looked up at the ongoing battles in front of her again, quickly figuring out how things were turning out. Aizen was playing his mind-games as usual with Rangiku and Hitsugaya, so he wasn't having much of a problem dealing with the two of them, it seemed.

Grimmjow on the other hand… Well, somehow he was actually managing on his own as he faced the other two. But it was clear that it was only barely. Soon enough, he'd be pushed back by the two of them…

She had to do something about it, she couldn't just let it continue like this. She slowly released the fence, standing on her own without any support. Okay, this was the first step in the right direction…

For a moment, she closed her eyes, calling her reiatsu and magic out, testing how well it obeyed her. It easily did as she asked - creating an invisible, swishing tail behind her. But she could certainly feel it, that much was for sure.

Well, it may hurt, but it was possible.

She looked up and was about to join Grimmjow, only to be stopped when she saw someone to her right. "I knew it." Someone said, so much hatred and anger in those words alone. She didn't have to look at him to know it was Renji. Damn, she had forgotten him. "I knew something was wrong with you - you lying bitch." He grounded out, whipping his sword out.

She turned her head much faster than she should have and glared at him. "I may be a lot of things, Abarai, but never once did I lie to _any_ of you." She snarled at him.

He glared right back. "Oh, so those ears on top of your head aren't remnants of your damn Hollow-mask, then?" He asked her, nodding to the top of her head.

She groaned. "That's not what I meant. Call it amnesia if you will, but I had no idea at the time." She told him. She wanted him to understand this, at least. "And it's not like I can hide them even if I wanted to." She added, crouching just a little bit in anticipation of his first move.

He basically growled at her. "I don't give a rat's ass whether you had amnesia or not. You're a goddamn enemy and I'm going to make sure you won't forget that ever again." He promised her, bracing himself as he planned to charge.

Shit… He had clearly seen her struggle to even get to her feet - that's why he was making such a show of it. He knew she didn't stand a chance against him right now.

But she couldn't give up, even if she knew that. No one was here to save her ass, she had to save it herself. And she didn't mind that.

Her hand clenched the whip, preparing to unfurl it as Renji charged forward with a cry. Just as she was about to lash out at the Shinigami, she was suddenly staring straight into a white back, covered by a long mane of sky-blue hair.

"I highly suggest you don't move another fucking step, Shinigami." Grimmjow growled, the tip of his zanpakuto pointed straight at the Shinigami's throat. From the pure force of his arrival, Renji had been forced to stop and was now staring at the Espada with widened eyes.

Yes… The sensation of a released Arrancar - especially Espada-level ones - was entirely different from their usual forms. The pure brutality of their reiatsu and the danger they evidently were had also had her stop in her tracks once or twice.

That was until she got used to it.

She glared right at the back of his head. "I can take care of myself, Grimmjow." She told him sharply. The fact that he had felt the need to even draw his zanpakuto just to take her fight away from her was more annoying than anything else.

He only glanced back at her over his shoulder shortly. "I know, Kitten. But I'm not about to lose you again after I just got you back." He replied, not the least bit sorry about it either. "You take the girl, I'll take care of these two fuckers." He told her. It clearly wasn't a suggestion.

Renji was stronger than Rukia, though… And he was being pushed back before. "Bu-"

"I'll be fine." He said, before jumping straight at Renji and clashing his sword with his.

She wanted to stamp her foot at him in frustration, but also knew it was the best solution for now. She turned to where she knew Rukia to be. She met the eyes of the girl, who she had laughed and had fun with just a few hours ago. Her sword was drawn and she looked at Lucy with a stern expression.

The blonde sighed in her silent mind. Honestly, she wasn't even sure she could take Rukia on at all either - the girl wasn't weak despite what she may look like. Well, at the moment, she'd probably even struggle against Orihime in a fist-fight, so there was that..

Nonetheless, she most definitely didn't have a choice now. She'd just have to play it smart if she wanted to win this.

"This is not the person I thought you would be, Lucy." Rukia spoke out clearly, her eyes not ever flinching from the blonde. "I am disappointed, to say the least." She said, lowering herself lightly.

'Neither did I, Rukia'. She couldn't help thinking that. "I'm sorry to hear that." She instead said, getting herself ready as well.

No matter who it was against, she always fought to win. And if she wanted to win this, she'd have to move around the least amount possible. She had trained a lot with her magic and reiatsu before this week, so she could reach far with it now. She could also do shields and barriers - at least small ones. She should be fine, if she played her cards right.

To start things off, she decided to go with the most basic of basics to being a Hollow. She breathed in deeply, feeling her chest expand with the action. Rukia, likely recognizing the technique, rushed forward. "Cero!" She yelled, blasting the beam out of her mouth.

The little Shinigami ran in zigzags in order to avoid it, but not matter what she did, she didn't get out of it without getting singed a few times.

Lucy maintained the beam until the girl was within her claws' range, then boycotted it and instead sent her reiatsu and magic to her fingers. She immediately slashed out at the Shinigami, gracing the girl's waist just enough to draw blood as she swirled away.

Rukia immediately used the momentum she got from the little pirouette and slammed her sword straight down. Barely in the nick of time, Lucy managed to create a weak shield extending from her arm, which took the brunt of the hit, but she wouldn't be able to last like this.

With a growl, she ignored her pain long enough to could spin and deliver a kick right to Rukia's side, making the girl stumble back.

The Lucy Rukia had heard of had not been a close combatant, so the move surely surprised the little Shinigami. She didn't let it show on her face though.

The two girls whipped their heads to the side when they felt a familiar, dark reiatsu grow from the battle on their left. Ichigo had just put on his Hollow-mask as Renji lay on the ground, bruised and battered.

Shit.

That was when another familiar reiatsu entered the scene. "It would seem I missed something." Ulquiorra blankly stated.

"Ulquiorra!" Lucy called out in relief, beyond happy to see the guy. His coming back here meant he'd completed his mission and that they could finally go back. "Guys! Reverse Pesquisa!" She called out to them. She knew Ulquiorra already knew she wasn't like everyone else here, and alas Aizen would as well, so even if she used this technique now, it wouldn't change anything…

She knew her own companions would know what it meant and, right as they were, they immediately closed their eyes when they saw the enemy looking confused about the strange command.

Lucy rallied all the magic she had left in her, gripping one upper arm and pointing the other up at the sky. A big, golden magic-circle appeared underneath her, quickly lighting up.

"Lion's Brilliance!"

* * *

 **I figure you all can figure out what'd happen from there, can't you? :3**

 **And here I was thinking I couldn't fill an entire chapter with the content I had planned for this one - boy was I wrong XD Pretty sure it's my longest yet for this story, isn't it..?  
Oh, and please, tell me I made the right decision choosing this title for the chapter over the flat one I had intended to in the beginning; 'To Hueco'. How boring is that compared to 'For the ones we Love'? Dang. Glad I changed that. (Especially because they don't even go to Hueco)**

 **Well, but a lot of different things happened this time around, eh?  
Lucy's back to her 'original' self, if we can call it that - though not without its fair share of retribution. Going against nature - aka deleting memories just like that and then giving them back when it's convenient - isn't just done without a cost. **

**But, well, instead we got the absolutely adorable reunion of Grimmjow and Lucy, so there's that at least. Tad bit of 'tsundere' in the both of them as well - Grimmjow especially - but we can clearly see what's going on there.**

 **Oh, and to spice things up, I also threw a bit of Orihime in there. Really isn't her day today, that's for sure.  
And yes, true to cannon - sorry if this is spoilers to any of you, but basically this story is just one big Bleach-spoiler - Ulquiorra is also the one threatening Orihime to go to Hueco this time around. Though… Under different circumstances. Mainly being a creep. Poor Orihime…**

 **Ah well, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading, favoriting, following and of course, commenting! Love you all to bits!**

 **~Line464d**


	19. Chapter 19 - Orihime Inoue

**Chapter 19 - Orihime Inoue**

 **All right, guys! It's that time of the year again… Merry Christmas! - and with that, I mean no offense to those of you, who do not celebrate this. Merry what-you're-celebrating…!(?)**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. It goes to Hiro and Tite each. :3**

* * *

Turning around in the bed, Grimmjow finally woke up. He groaned, keeping his eyes closed just a little while longer. It had been too fucking long since he'd gotten this kind of awesome sleep. He didn't have to look to know it was already late - all the more damn proof that he'd been way too damn deprived from this for way too damn long.

Finally opening his eyes, he found himself staring at the exact reason why he had caught up with it now lying next to him. He looked at her with a little smile. Looked like she'd been right about those curls after all - they were back and as they used to be. As he preferred it.

She was still sleeping, her shallow breaths being the only thing breaking the comfortable silence in the room. It was rare he ever woke up before she did, but that was just the proof of how much everything that happened earlier had taken out of her. And she'd said she hadn't gotten so much sleep this week either, so that probably added to it.

This week had literally been nothing but shit piling up on more shit. Not only was he forced to lose her, he also had three Fracción running around and being annoying as hell at all times. Then there was the fact that he couldn't even spend his time in his own gym because that bastard Luppi wouldn't let him. That guy probably already made sure every trace of them was gone from that wing, thinking he'd be staying there forever. Fucking bastard. Then there was the even bigger asshole in this place - Aizen - who'd kept on coming by just to patronize him, telling him only bits of what had been going on with her, so that he actually didn't know shit. He was going to pay for everything one day.

And Grimmjow wasn't the only one, who wanted that. Though she hadn't openly admitted it yet, he knew Lucy had a few things against that man as well. There was no chance she didn't.

How many more games would that bastard be playing on her now she had revealed her magic the other day? The war, or whatever it was, was right around the damn corner, but they still hadn't done shit. How far did that ass intend to drag her into this?

All Grimmjow knew was that the former Shinigami-trash wasn't done. Playing around with the two of them had become his favorite pastime.

Damnit. He wouldn't let that bastard hurt her - or him - any more than he already had. It was about time to end this crap. For good. He had messed more than enough with the both of them already.

And besides… If he actually managed to poke her open, he'd literally be shown the display of her worst weaknesses - her old life. He, as the fucking bastard he was, would take full advantage of that as soon as he could. Blackmail her into doing strange shit unless she wanted him to go and off every single one of them.

Grimmjow almost growled at the thought. Like hell would he allow that to happen.

He already knew getting back all those memories from when she was a Hollow hurt her - not just physically - even if she didn't want to admit it. There was literally no reason for anyone to have to put any salt in that wound.

She creased her brow a little in her sleep, as if confirming that to be true. Sometimes he couldn't help wondering if this place was a little too dark for someone like her. He wouldn't be surprised if she wished she could've stayed at Earth without half her memories and just… Be with them.

Honestly, you wouldn't find anyone here as soft as she was - Harribel wasn't even that soft, though she looked like it. She wasn't the 3rd Espada for nothing, goddammit. For example, that woman probably didn't give two shits about the rest of the Arrancar in this castle. But Lucy though, she probably saw them all like some kind of giant, dysfunctional family or some shit. That's just not how it worked here.

Ah, well. But it was that softness which'd made him keep her alive this long. You couldn't find that anywhere else in Hueco, so might as well keep it around.

He turned his attention to her again when he saw her shift a little, about to wake up.

"Morning…" She told him drowsily, stretching her back with her arms above her head, her eyes still closed. Goddammit, he missed the smaller bed they'd had in their own wing.

"Sure, if you can call it that." He replied easily, watching her. It wasn't like they had anything that really marked whether it was day or night in Hueco - it was just a sort of endless night. But whatever.

She nuzzled into the covers again, then finally opened her eyes. "Have you been up for a long time?" She asked, staring right back at him.

"Nah, not really." He brushed it off. In reality, he actually had absolutely no clue how long he'd been up, but he couldn't imagine it being too long. "But you've been out for a long time though."

She sighed slowly. "Yes, I know… Ah, dangit.. They'll probably call for a meeting soon then." She groaned, looking bored already.

"Oh, right. They were going to get that carrot-top's main chick here right about today. Damnit, completely forgot about that shit." He agreed. They always called for a damn meeting about every single fucking thing.

"On the bright side, though. That meeting also gives us our wing back." She shot in, reminding him that this might just be the last time he'd have to sleep in this kind of oversized beds. Welp, that'd be the only thing getting him through the day now. "We should probably get up and get ready…" She muttered, not sounding very motivated at the moment.

"Probably." He grumbled. Even though it was big as fuck, he actually didn't want to leave this thing. Not right now, at least.

And it would seem she didn't either, because absolutely nothing happened even after she'd said that. The both of them just continued to lie there, staring at each other silently.

That was, until something flashed behind her eyes. "There's… Actually something I need to tell you…" She slowly started, not able to find the right words. She turned around and instead lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling - which was also too fucking far away to be normal. "I… Found out that… I know for a fact that Gin wasn't the one who killed me." She muttered, one arm gently rubbing the other upper arm.

What…? "Then who did it?" He asked, knowing she'd also have the answer to that, just by the way her face looked. She was just struggling to say it, for some reason.

She breathed in deeply. "Aizen." She curtly replied. "Aizen was the one who killed me." She repeated for more clarity.

He jolted up into a sitting position staring down at her from above. "What?!" He asked her loudly, then calmed down a bit. "How can you even be sure of that?" He then asked. No matter if the bastard had killed her or not, Grimmjow'd gladly kill him either way. But he was planning to have the killer taken extra good care of, so he'd like to actually be sure he got the right person.

She sighed again, rubbing her head a little. "You know Aizen's shikai's abilities, right? To manipulate the senses of his enemies. Hypnotize them, basically." She explained slowly, as he realized just where she was going. "He used that back then, making himself appear to be Gin. I guess… I don't know if it's reinforced when he's around or something, but it wore off when I was at Earth, so…" She trailed off.

"Damn." He muttered slowly. This shit made it sound more and more like the bastard had this all planned out from the beginning. Wasn't unlikely he'd recognized her right from the beginning then, and had made sure that disguise of his kept stuck. This was a shitty situation. He looked at her again with a serious look. "I know I told you this already, Kitten. But don't believe a single fucking word that son of a bitch tells you. Not one. You better listen to me this time." He grumbled the last part. Now she had her own proof the bastard was the bastard he was.

She looked at him confusedly. "Told me before..? You sure it wasn't just something you thought you did?" She asked him.

He stared at her for a moment, then growled deeply. "Figures that fucking asshole couldn't keep his grubby, little fingers from your fucking memories. God fucking dammit." He snarled. Fucking bastard had removed that memory of their argument. Holy fuck he was a pestilence. "Yes, I fucking told you. It was right before I left for Earth, remember?" He asked her, willing her to remember it.

She frowned for a moment, then seemingly tried to remember. Until she groaned and a hand flew to her head. "Dammit, thought I was over that." She growled.

"Lovely, he removed that shit." He growled. No, it hadn't been a nice discussion, but it had damn well been important for her to understand that shit. They really had to have that shitty conversation again?

She nodded lightly. "Seems so. Unless…" She trailed off slowly. "Before you go and kill someone let me just try something…" She said, closing her eyes.

He watched with furrowed eyebrows as she kinda just lay there. There was a little flow of magic to her head, but otherwise, nothing was going on at all. "What the hell are you even doing, Kitten?" He asked her, slightly annoyed. He wanted to go and kill someone right now.

"Patience." She sharply told him, her eyes still closed and the constant stream of the golden energy still as strong as before. Whatever she was doing, it didn't actually look comfortable, judging from her expression. He waited and watched in silence as she finished whatever the hell it was she was doing right now. She suddenly gasped. "It worked…!"

He looked at her with a brow raised. "So. Going to explain what you just did?" He asked her.

She nodded lightly, sitting up next to him. "Yeah. I restored the memory, sort of." She explained. "I think… His name was Urahara. That guy told me that my magic could do two things; enhance or break down." She said excitedly. "I think he meant reiatsu. With my magic, I can either enhance or break down reiatsu! And that includes the blanket he'd put over my memories. That was probably why I could see through his disguise and got those visions of you!" She ranted, talking so fast he barely caught anything of what she just said.

"You.. Remembered me?" He slowly asked, having caught that bit at least.

She nodded with an almost beaming smile. Before she could reply though, there was a sharp knock on the door. "If you two lovebirds are done chirping in there - or whatever the hell you're doing - then there's been called for a meeting for the Espada. Jaegerjaquez, you're included in this one." Apacci called through the door rudely.

"Fucking hell."

* * *

"As you all likely well know, a week has passed, and Lucy has returned from Earth with some very interesting information." Aizen started off. As of right now, everyone had showed up, except Ulquiorra and including Luppi in Grimmjow's seat and her standing with the former sexta Espada a little behind the table. And she was absolutely despising the attention she was getting right now. "Of course, Lucy, we have had Ulquiorra keep watch of you throughout and show us what he has seen, so much of it is not a mystery to us." He said, looking to her.

Right.. Which meant every single person in here was 100 percent aware she had magic at this point. Lovely. Great. Just perfect. Well, made it easier coming out with it…

"Oh, yes. And may I say - you looked absolutely adorable in that t-shirt with the bear over your chest. Please wear that more often." Nnoitora commented, a lecherous grin on his face. The others around the table didn't look all that impressed by his continued remarks. As usual.

That was… Until a Cero flew by less than an inch away from his face, creating a hole in the 'fabulous' spoon-like collar behind him, making it sizzle a little. "Less unnecessary remarks from you will be much appreciated, Nnoitora." She said, a sugary-sweet smile on her face and lacing the tone of her voice. Yes, Orihime's shirts may not have been entirely her size, but goddammit. This was uncomfortable.

On the other hand, she was impressed Grimmjow did nothing but scowl at the Espada, who clearly felt the death-threat behind her words.

Aizen quickly brought attention away from that. "Would you mind sharing with us what you have learned this week?" He asked her.

"Of course." She agreed, stepping forward just once. "As I'm sure you know already, there is a Captain and three Lieutenants stationed at Earth along with Ichigo and his friends; Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of the 10th Division, specializing in the use of his bankai. His main element is ice. His Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, who specializes in her sword's shikai-ability; to turn into dust. Lieutenant Renji Abarai of the 6th Division; a heavy-hitter amongst them, much like Ichigo. And finally, Rukia Kuchiki of the 13th Division, a kido expert." She summed them up. Kido had been the kind of thing Aizen had used on Loke back in that cave - their version of spells.

She knew they all likely knew that already but she wouldn't be leaving anything out. If they'd really been following her close enough to know what kind of clothes she was wearing, then they knew a lot. She didn't want them to think she was purposefully leaving anything out.

"Hiding in a building on the outskirts of the town in a group of 8 Visored. To keep it simple, they are the reverse of us; Shinigami who have been given the power of Hollows. They are strong, however they are imperfect. They struggle to keep the balance between both sides and cannot combine them as we do." She said. Having figured that out, she also figured out that those eight were Aizen's early experiments, when he didn't have access to Hollows as easily. Failed ones, at that. "Ichigo has turned out to be similar to the Visored, as he too has a Hollow in him, that he struggles to control. From this, he can gain a huge amount of power, but only for a limited time, just as they do. It is easily recognizable when they use this, as a mask like that of Hollows' will manifest and cover their faces when using the Hollow reiatsu." She explained.

Aizen nodded as well to this. "At our return the other day, we all witnessed it in battle. Beware of it; with it, he can match most of you gathered in here." He added, knowing what she was about to say apparently.

She gave him a little smile and nod, though she was a bit creeped out at the fact that he actually knew her so well. "As we already are aware, he also has numerous other allies around in Karakura - former Shinigami Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin, as well as a pair of humans; Uryu Ishida - a Quincy - and then Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue - two seemingly ordinary humans with spiritual powers unlike those of Hollows and Shinigami." She explained.

Once again, Aizen nodded. This time stepping forward and discretely signaling to her, that her job was done. For now, that was all she needed to tell them, it seemed. "Orihime Inoue especially has some noteworthy abilities; specifically those of healing. Alas, I have ordered Ulquiorra to bring her here, which is why he is not here at the moment." He told them, looking at everyone gathered for a short moment. "I have been told that there has yet to be found a thing that she was unable to heal, save for death, and it should be even more effective than that of high-speed regeneration." He explained, while not a single one of the people gathered actually had any sort of outward reaction to it. "He should arrive any moment now."

The door was opened easily just as he finished that, revealing Ulquiorra followed closely by Orihime on the other side. The poor, absolutely terrified girl looked around at everyone gathered with pure and unaltered fear. It was not only their much more rough appearances, Lucy was sure, it was also the heavy pressure of their reiatsu.

"I apologize for the wait. I have brought her, just as ordered." Ulquiorra stated, leaving Orihime behind in the dust as he quickly found his own seat.

Aizen smiled widely. "Thank you, Ulquiorra. You did well." He complimented the bat. Having… Realized that Aizen really wasn't the good guy she'd made him out to be really made it obvious what kind of mind-manipulation he was doing right now. And it was all without the use of reiatsu as well. He then turned to the human girl, stepping down from his seat and approaching her a bit. "Please, Orihime, be at ease. We will not harm you." He tried to assure her.

Obviously the girl didn't believe him the slightest bit. Her eyes darted around to all of them, only shortly brushing over Lucy only to never return there, as she stared at every single person in the room. On guard and… Well, ready for whatever might be thrown at her, though she likely couldn't do much if any of them decided to attack her.

Lucy sagged a bit as she realized the girl did everything in her power to not look at her the slightest. She was really avoiding her, huh? Well, that probably should be expected after what she'd done…

Aizen continued to smile lightly. "Do you know why you are here, Orihime?" He continued to ask her, making her big, doe-like, brown eyes land on him warily. It was a wonder she wasn't a shaking mess by now, she was actually standing her ground nicely. However, she was also just standing. She didn't seem able to shake her head, even. Which the former Shinigami quickly realized. "I have been told you have incredible talents for healing. I'm sure you noticed yesterday that our dear Grimmjow over here has lost his arm." He said, gesturing to Grimmjow, who was honestly pissed now, to put it nicely. "Would you mind healing it for us?" He asked as he came to a stop almost right in front of her.

Orihime continued to stare at him. It was obvious she knew she had absolutely no choice in this matter - and she'd probably also been told as much earlier on.

So she could only weakly nod. Aizen sent her one of his grander smiles and guided the girl forward with a hand on her back almost familiarly. "Wonderful! Grimmjow, please do step forward." He said, sending the former Espada a sharp look that neither Orihime nor any of the Espada would see. But she and Grimmjow did.

Grimmjow growled under his breath, but stepped forward nonetheless, at first glaring right at Aizen, then turned his gaze to the girl. Lucy really wanted to punch him for giving the already absolutely petrified girl such a look. But she didn't have that long arms, unfortunately.

She watched with crossed arms as Aizen so comfortably patted the girl on the shoulder. With everything she'd been told and in this situation, it obviously more so felt like a threat than the friendly gesture it'd be in most other situations.

And that was exactly what it was supposed to be.

"Please, work your magic, if you will." He asked of her. He then stepped away and back towards his chair again, sending Lucy a quick, brushing gaze. She almost wanted to roll her eyes at him. Yes, yes. She knew he knew.

When Orihime looked around at all the awaiting gazes, Grimmjow finally got impatient. "Just get to it." He grumbled to her. Luckily for him, it wasn't as hostile as it could have been. He was lucky Aizen even allowed it to be healed at all, to be honest.

The girl nodded quickly, then touched the pin in her hair. "S-Soten Kisshun…!" She muttered a little rushedly. Two things flew out, creating a golden barrier around Grimmjow's halved arm. For a moment, she maintained a very intense look without anything happening. Until suddenly Grimmjow's arm began growing back from where it'd been cut off. It took no time whatsoever, and the arm was back to how it always used to be. "T-That should do it…"

Just as everyone else, Grimmjow looked at it in wonder as the girl removed the golden barrier once again. He pulled it up and played around with his fingers, testing if it was all as it should be.

"Impressive, indeed." Aizen commented from where he was half sitting, half standing. "It is truly much more effective than that of regular healing." He said, stepping out of the chair he was in and approaching again. "As a matter of fact, I believe this is nothing like that of healing. It is more like… Rejection. You can reject what has been done to anything within that little field, returning it to the state you want it in." He rambled, clearly actually in awe. Well, at least it wasn't all wrong of her to bring Orihime here. If nothing else, there was a bit more clarity shed on what her 'healing' was all about.

"That so?" Grimmjow said, turning to the girl again. "Now you're at it, do whatever it is you do on my back as well. That number is the wrong one, already." He said, sending Aizen a look. So now was the time he claimed back his title, huh?

Orihime looked up to Aizen as if for confirmation of whether she should do this or not, and got a nod from him. "All right. It will serve well as a test to see if I am right." He agreed.

"R-right.." Orihime muttered, barely whispering the same incantation again. The golden field appeared, bathing Grimmjow's back in the golden light and soon returning the '68' to just being '6'.

Grimmjow grinned widely when she pulled it back again, and Lucy couldn't help smiling right alongside with him, as happy to see that back as he was.

"This is all great and all. But we can't have two sexta's, so you'll kind of have to turn that back to 68 again." Luppi commented from where he was sitting, looking annoyed with what had just happened.

Grimmjow turned to him, a smirk on his face. "You're _ab_ solutely right." He said, once again lifting his newly-restored hand up. "How about we reintroduce this little baby, shall we?" He asked.

No one as much as had the time to blink before Grimmjow suddenly appeared right behind Luppi's chair - which was on the other side of the table. Luppi gasped loudly, inhaling for air, though it seemed like it was impossible for him right now. And, most notably, a bloodied hand was now poking right out of the now former sexta's chest - through the chair and all - holding his still beating heart.

Grimmjow grinned psychotically as the crimson red smeared his hand and arm and Luppi was still barely alive. With a laugh, he crushed the organ in his hand, making the Arrancar's own blood and heart splatter all over him while he was still barely alive.

With that, Orihime gasped and turned the other way, only now realizing what she had just witnessed, as Grimmjow roughly tore his hand back through Luppi's chest and the chair, letting the Arrancar die at last.

The blue-haired Espada easily leaned against the chair, resting his chin on the arms, which were now lying on the backrest and smiling at Aizen with an excited smile. "If you don't mind, I'll be taking my wing back now." He said, simply letting the blood drip down on Luppi's shoulder from his hand, not even bothering to shake it off.

Aizen sighed, as if he was dealing with an unruly child. Wasn't too far off. "Of course, it is yours. Just as promised." He confirmed.

Though a little disgusted with his way of dealing with things, Lucy couldn't keep the happy smile from her face as she looked at Grimmjow. They could finally go back home again.

"Aaroniero, please escort this young lady to her… 'Room'." He asked of the 9th Espada, who gave a single, awkward nod. In the cells, then…? Well, at least she knew they had some civilized cells down there - not a lot different from the ordinary Arrancar's room. Those were probably where they'd be putting her. He smiled to the girl. "Thank you for your help, Orihime. Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything." He said.

Yeah, sure. Even though he sounded like the good Samaritan here, all of them knew there was absolutely no way for Orihime to actually call for him if she ever needed it. But she didn't know that, so obviously she just gave him a little nod, looking a little relieved as she followed the Espada outside of the room. The poor girl had no idea what to think about this man - he was acting opposite of what she'd been told. He was luring her into a false sense of security, and she was falling for it quickly.

Lucy didn't like it, but there she couldn't do anything about it right now… She could only watch helplessly as the girl exited the room through the door she had also entered.

"There will come no harm to that human girl unless I have said otherwise. Is that understood?" Aizen asked, looking around at all of them. Few gave verbal agreement, but it was clear they all understood. "Good. You're all dismissed."

* * *

A knock on the door to their wing disrupted their conversation. Luppi actually hadn't changed a whole lot of things while he stayed here - it stayed mostly the same as when they'd left it a little over a week ago. But there still were a few things that needed correction.

The person on the other side of the door let themselves in before any of them could say anything. "Lucy, Aizen's called fer ya." Gin told her, his usual smile on his face.

"Right, I'll be right there, thank you." She said, to which the guy gave a nod and closed it again. Now she knew it wasn't him who'd done it, she felt much more comfortable with his presence. And having heard what she did from Rangiku, it also gave a whole different perspective on him. She turned to Grimmjow and gave him a little smile. "I'll be back in a bit." She said before following the silver-haired guy out the door.

On the other side, Gin had actually been waiting for her. "That's good. Aizen's not really in a patient mood right now." He said as they began walking the familiar path. "The war's right around the corner, ya know." He clarified in case she was wondering.

She nodded. Obviously that'd stress him out some, the last things would need getting place. "That's fine, it's to be expected at this point."

She tried not to flinch when she saw his smile had dropped and he was looking at her with his actually beautiful, teal eyes, which he usually hid behind his eyelids. "After this meetin's over, would ya mind if I could talk to ya a bit?" He asked her.

Well, that was a strange request coming from him. Could he feel she was acting differently around him now or something? "Yeah, sure. That's not a problem." She agreed.

He nodded as well, his usual expression returning as they approached the large doors that led to the Shinigami quarters, guarded by Loly and Menoly as usual. "I'll meet ya at yer wing later, m'kay?" He asked, to which she just nodded. Well, this was strange…

They made it right past the two guards, who let them in with a sharp glare at the blonde, closing the door after them. Aizen immediately turned at their arrival. "Ah, that's good. I wanted to talk to you." He said, a light, sort of smile on his lips.

She gave a nod back. "It's about Orihime, isn't it?" She asked, pretty sure she'd correctly guessed what he'd be calling her here for. It was the obvious choice, after all.

He nodded as he crossed his arms. "Indeed it is." He confirmed. "I am impressed by her abilities, yes, however I don't see how I have any use of her. Now or in the future. She would not wish to work for me as loyally as the Arrancar, who served me for so long. She is on the side of the Shinigami already." He said.

"You can convince her to use her powers for you any time you might need it, just as you have done it today." She argued. He knew that as well; the girl was too weak-willed to stand against any kind of blackmailing.

"Perhaps. But that is not the issue." Tosen replied before Aizen could. "The human girl would find some way to get back to the Shinigami again. Her powers are simply too great to let our enemies have, especially if she masters them." He countered.

She sighed. Yes… Yes, that was true. If she had the power to truly reject what has happened, she would at some point be able to revive the dead. And that was a dangerous power to have in a war. "So what do you suggest we do, then? Keep her locked up down there?" She asked, already knowing that wasn't what he was thinking of at all.

"No. Unfortunately, as Tosen said, the possibility of her returning to the hands of the Shinigami is too big." He said as dread already settled in her. "I am afraid we will have to kill her." He said, looking almost regretful at the idea. "The thought of such powers going to waste like that is disheartening, but I see no other solution." He said.

She somehow suppressed a growl from erupting through her throat. Fuck it, what could she say to this? More importantly, what could she say to prevent this guy from killing that innocent girl? She'd put Orihime into this situation in the first place, so the least she could do was make sure she didn't die if there was anything she could do to prevent it.

"I.. Don't think you should do that." She slowly told him as her mind spun around searching for something she could say at all. Without making it too obvious. She knew she was on thin ice here; Aizen was likely testing her loyalty. To know whether she'd turned to the Shinigami's side as well or not. So.. She had to be careful.

He looked at her with a raised brow. "And why is that?" He asked her, keeping her from looking anywhere else but at him.

"Because of Ichigo." She quickly replied, that being the first thing to come to mind. She only elaborated once she got the gesture to continue. "Once he finds out that she has been killed, he will be unstoppable. He will likely lose himself to his Hollow side - and that'll only make him all the more dangerous." She rambled on, hoping that that was enough. Because it really wasn't an unlikely scenario at all. If he was anything like Natsu, he'd tear through everything to save those he called his friends. And if they were killed, he'd go through anyone until he reached the killer.

"That is… An interesting point." He slowly agreed.

Gin nodded, pitching in as well. "We've seen 'im do it before, remember? He took down that Kenpachi back in the Soul Society. An' he hadn't even had his powers fer much more than a month back then."

Aizen sighed. "It is true. He will be powerful, perhaps, but not powerful enough to take down every single one of our Espada and the three of us as simply as that." He argued, looking to her. "As you have mentioned earlier, a single person may be powerful, but if faced against several enemies, he would have to divide that power. He cannot end this war just because of that." He finished off.

Lucy nodded, having figured he'd say something like that. "There is one other thing as well, which you should consider before making a decision." She pointed out, having gotten the chance to think a little as they spoke. "Maybe not quite yet, but tomorrow, Ichigo and everyone else will figure out that Orihime is not around them. Knowing she's here will undoubtedly lure Ichigo here - whether the Shinigami wants him to go or not. He cannot simply leave a friend alone in a situation like this one." She argued.

"What good will that do?" Tosen asked.

She smiled a little. "It will mean that, though the war will not begin on our first move, it will be on our terms." She explained, looking back to Aizen. "He will come here tomorrow, and that will be the start of the war. On our own turf." She pointedly told him. "We will plan, counting on that happening, and that will definitely give us a great head-start." She said. Right now, it was in the early- to middle of the night for them, so that gave them a hell of a lot of time to work with. Many, many hours. Putting their minds together, they would easily come up with something great.

Aizen nodded slowly, accepting her plan. "The Soul Society will not be allowing any Shinigami - or him, for that matter - to go, however he and his other human friends will. Knowing this, the Shinigami will come a little later, with no doubt, with backup.." He said, already showing off how well he actually knew the Shinigami. Not that that was surprising considering how long he'd been around all of them. "For now, I will need some time to think about this. I will call for you later to discuss our plans." He said, to which she gave him a curt nod.

Well, this seemed to be a very short meeting, surprisingly.

Just as she was about to bid her farewell and leave, he spoke again. "Before you leave, though, there was one other thing I would like to speak to you about." He said, getting up from his chair and turning around with his back to her. "You see… While Ulquiorra was keeping watch of you this week, he learned something… Very interesting."

Well… Fuck.

* * *

 **Did I mention I absolutely adore making cliffhangers?**

 **Well, but we found out exactly what Urahara meant with what her magic could do, though.. I wonder how many of you already had that figured out?  
Other than that, true to cannon, Orihime restored Grimmjow's arm and number and he got back his status as Espada - and the wing following that. So that's nice. **

**Oh, and, the war's about to start. Right on top of the drama that is Lucy's past. So yup, shit's going to hit the fan pretty soon.**

 **Quincy. I know I haven't touched on this subject yet, and it won't really have much of an influence on my story - neither will Uryu really make an appearance either - so that's why you haven't gotten an explanation about him. Basically, he's a mortal with a lot of reiatsu. It's a genetic thing. There are not a lot of them left at this point and Uryu's the only one you know in the anime/manga for a long time. So yeah, that's the short story.**

 **Well, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for reading, following, favoriting and commenting! It really keeps up my spirits to see you guys supporting the story and giving me your opinions and thoughts (though I absolutely suck at replying to them though I may have that intention), so please, keep it up!**

 **~Line464d**


	20. Chapter 20 - Deceptions Unravaled

**Chapter 20 - Deceptions Unraveled**

 **So, as with last chapter (which I didn't mention for some reason) these two have both landed on the Sundays that, for me at least, were Christmas eve and New Year's eve, so that's why I send the chapters out quite a few hours earlier than usual. So yup.  
And, of course, happy New Year to you all! Let's hope 2018'll be even better than 2017!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and Fairy Tail. But maybe in this new year…**

* * *

Lucy froze as her gaze almost robotically moved to Aizen. She knew he knew, but she had no idea what he'd do to her now.

Though he was facing the other way, she could hear a smirk in his smug voice. "It would seem you have not been entirely truthful with us. Isn't that right?" He asked as he looked back at her over his shoulder.

She didn't answer him. She gritted her teeth and clenched the fists at her side. Shit, this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

He simply turned all the way around to face her when he realized she wouldn't be answering him. "As a matter of fact, we learned two things and both are equally impressive." He said, his arms locked comfortably behind his back as he looked at her intensely. "First that you seem to be from another world entirely and second, from this, that you have retained your memories from being alive." He revealed, looking really smug about it all.

She glared at him and immediately tensed up in preparation for whatever was going to happen. Because she couldn't possibly get out of this without punishment of some sort.

Her hostility drove him to continue, of course. "That and then you proved it just yesterday when you used that technique, which was most definitely not reiatsu-made." He added.

She knew back when she used it, that these guys already knew about it all and that was the only reason she actually dared it in the first place. "What do you want from me?" She asked them, her gaze flying from one to the other to the third and back again.

Tosen was surprisingly the one to speak up, revealing that they had been speaking about this since before she came in here. "There is no need for you to worry. Just as with the human girl, you are worth more to us alive than you are dead." He said directly.

She looked at him incredulously. Was that actually supposed to reassure her or something? It honestly felt much more like a threat than it comforted her at all.

Aizen also quickly stepped in, of course. "With that, we mean your cooperation." He clarified. "If you are honest with us from now on and tell everything you know, in turn, I promise no harm will come to you or to Grimmjow by any of our hands. Or anyone currently within Hueco. Almost no matter what you do." He promised her.

She crossed her arms, but didn't relax the slightest. She didn't trust Aizen even a little bit. She knew him a little too well now to simply take his word for it. There was a loophole somewhere in this.

But… At the same time, it would give them a lot of leeway. Even if there was a loophole, Aizen would still hold true to his word far along the road. If not, his cover would blow immediately and, well, he just wasn't that stupid.

She knew it might be a trap, but not agreeing to it right here and now would assure the death of the both of them.

She narrowed her eyes at them. "I repeat. What do you want from me?" She asked them.

Aizen smiled, seeing that she actually agreed with his proposition. "That is wonderful, Lucy. I am glad we have your cooperation in this." He said with somewhat of a smile. It only made her even more uncomfortable. "All I want from you right now is for you to tell us about your world." He said, then gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs.

She stared blankly at him for a moment, then sighed under her breath and sat down, never losing her guard despite everything. This would be a long conversation, without a doubt.

"My world is called 'Earthland'. It's similar to Earth in many ways, we just have magic instead of reiatsu - that's what I used back then." She curtly explained, looking around at them while they seemed to be listening intently. "I don't see how any more information would benefit you in any way." She sharply declared. Honestly, he probably didn't give to shits about any of the other things. Other than general curiosity, maybe. But it wasn't _necessary._

He smiled a little, giving her the feeling that he knew exactly what she was thinking. "I understand your reluctance to speak, Lucy. Anyone would be. Especially if they thought this to be the only way to protect the people they love. Their family." He said.

She squinted her eyes at him. She knew, of course, that Aizen was an incredibly clever man. He could read anyone and anything at all times. And by now, he obviously also knew her and how soft she knew she was. But this just hit way too close to home to be mere guess-work.

He had gone and tried to delete some of the memories inconvenient to him, so who was to say he didn't also go snooping around now he was at it? - He'd had all the chance in the world to do it back then without any resistance.

He spoke up again. "Of course, I also understand why you would keep all of this to yourself - and I'm guessing Grimmjow as well? - which is why I am not angry or disappointed in the slightest. It was the most reasonable thing for you to do." He said, then intertwined his fingers and looked at her with a glint in his eyes. "That said, I do believe you owe us as much as to at least tell us everything about you and your world." He declared.

She only barely managed not snarling at him. Goddamn ass was actually playing the victim in this.

Having kept quiet for a while, Gin also pitched in. "Besides that, if things go south fer us in this war - not that I'm countin' on that - a whole different world'll be a pretty good place ta hide out, ya know." He argued.

Now, see, had Aizen started out with that, she might not have been feeling so threatened right about now.

She leaned back in the chair with an annoyed groan, digging her fingers into her hair as she glared at the ceiling. "Fine." She growled. "I'll tell you everything."

* * *

"Your magic. Is it possible to use it effectively alongside your reiatsu?" Aizen asked her. "Or can it only be used by itself as you did yesterday?"

"No, it's possible to apply my magic to my reiatsu… So far I'm able to successfully create a Cero using both. It's at the level of a Gran Rey Cero or so." She told him. Telling any more than that would be stupid. He didn't need to know that she could, in fact, successfully apply the two or that her magic could break down his deceptions.

Just as he didn't need to know anything but the basics of her world. He didn't need to know about her family or how much she loved them. He only needed to know she'd been a part of the strongest guild for a little more than a year.

So far, she had told him absolutely nothing personal like that. The less he knew, the less he could use against her.

"I see." He slowly said. "That sounds promising." He said with a faint smile. She could almost see him planning all kinds of weird shit from over here. He would turn anything and everything to his advantage in any way possible.

She nodded lightly. "It's somewhat difficult to use both of them at the same time, so I obviously can't manage anything too elaborate." She said.

As was, creating the tail or the claws from her Adjuchas form was the easiest, as she was familiar with both. Though she could fully do it now, creating a shield was much more difficult. Especially since the creation - no matter what it was - had to be connected with her skin somehow. Luckily, she was a creative person. Grimmjow would never be able to use it properly. To him, it'd be more of a hindrance than it'd be a help.

She stood up with a deep exhale, about done with this conversation. "I've told you everything there is to know about Earthland, so if you'll excuse me…" She trailed off, turning around and heading for the exit. She really, honestly only wanted to get out of this room right now.

Just as she reached for the door, Aizen spoke up behind her. "Would you like to see them again?" He asked her.

She froze on the spot, her hand hovering right above the door. "… What?" Surely it didn't mean what she thought it did…?

She heard a chair scrape against the floor, revealing that he was now standing up. "Your friends in Fairy Tail, would you like to see them again?" He asked her, slowly approaching her.

It was what she had wished for, for so long. What she had thought was impossible. She'd… Already given up the thought of ever seeing them again. Her friends, her family…

"Is it really possible?" She asked with a low voice. But because of the silence in the room, it easily carried.

"Yes, for you it should be." Aizen confirmed, his big hand landing on her shoulder and covering it entirely. "But only for you." He added.

She didn't say anything, but simply looked at him. Every word had escaped her, and she could only rely on her eyes to convey what she thought.

She had no idea what she felt, but… She couldn't say no to this offer.

He smiled, easily able to read that from her face. "Good." He simply said, giving her a light squeeze before letting go. "You will be going through the Garganta, of course. You are the only one with a connection to Earthland, so you are the only one who can create it, but we will support you in opening it." He said, to which she nodded lightly. "If you can wait a couple of hours, then we will be ready as well. Unfortunately, it cannot be a long stay given our situation, but we'll give you as much time as we can."

She couldn't not smile at him after this. "Thank you, Aizen. Really." She said, the only way she could show her gratitude.

It was really damn hard to hate the guy when he went and did things like this…

* * *

She closed the door to their wing behind her. The sound drew Grimmjow's attention from where he'd been sitting on the couch.

He whipped around and shot to his feet when he saw her. "What did he want from you?" He asked her, clear anger in his voice. She knew him too well not to see his obvious worry as well.

"I convinced him not to kill Orihime and… He wanted to know about Earthland." She honestly told him. She still had absolutely no idea how to feel about that meeting at all. She was scared, relieved, angry and overjoyed all at once.

He approached her with long strides, grabbing both of her arms and looking directly into her eyes. "You have to be really fucking careful around him now, Kitten. What did you tell him?" He somewhat harshly asked her.

She looked away from his sharp, blue eyes and down to the arm, which hadn't been there just a pair of hours ago. "Just about it - magic, guilds, mages and such… Nothing personal." She promised him, knowing that was what he was really worried about. "But, Grim…" She trailed off, once again meeting his gaze with her own. "I can go there." She said with a trembling voice.

She felt his grip on her arms lightening a little as he stared at her. "What..?" He could only ask.

She reached over and put a hand over his restored one. "Aizen, he… He allowed me to go there, Grim. In a couple of hours, I can go see everyone again." She told him, knowing he knew how much it meant to her.

And that was why a crease appeared on his forehead as he looked down at her. "Kitten… It's a trap…" He carefully told her.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head, forcing a single tear to fall from her eye. "I know… I know, but…" She could end the sentence. She couldn't just not go now…

"All right." She heard him say. A light touch at her wet cheek had her looking up at him again. "But you won't be going alone." He told her before wiping what remained on her cheek off.

She smiled brightly up at him. "Thank you, Grim." She earnestly told him. Not only did she get the green lights from him, he was actually going with her - she couldn't wish for anything more in this situation.

He shook his head at her almost childish excitement. "Sure, Kitten." He said and patted her head for good measure. "Besides, I want to see if they're all really as crazy as you always say they are." He said with a grin.

She looked back at him with a slightly raised brow. "Don't expect too much - they won't be going all crazy before they break out into a party. And they'll probably be behaving a little nicer in front of a new face." She told him. The stories she'd told was them at their worst, not their normal amount of rambunctiousness. Besides, it wasn't like this place was 'normal' either.

He plopped down in the couch again and looked at her form where he was sitting. "Well, I mean, they're _your_ family, aren't they?" He asked her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'm a crazy bitch, so they have to be as well, right?" She rhetorically asked him. Typical Grimmjow to say something like that.

He stared blankly at her for a moment. "No, it's just enough reason to go and see them." He corrected her.

Now she was the one staring blankly at him. That was so unlike him to say. But… She didn't mind it.

"Well." He said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "But you're right - you are a crazy bitch." He said with a smirk.

She huffed in laughter. Well, so much for having a moment. "Asshole." She shot back at him as she fell into the couch as well.

A short moment passed between them before he spoke up again. "We should warn them, you know." He told her, both of them staring at the wall in front of them instead of at each other.

She nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I know." She admitted, looking down at her hands. She may still be naïve compared to many others here, but she wasn't at all as bad as she had been. She realized Aizen hadn't done this for her happiness in the slightest.

"The bastard's planning all kinds of things, they have to at least have a chance to prepare against him. Don't know how much they can do, but it's better than nothing." He argued, though she agreed.

She couldn't help thinking that she'd been the one who put them in danger. Well, she was. There was no one else from Earthland, she was the only one.

"No reason ta look so glum, Lucy. If ya didn't say yes, he'd've been suspicious, so that's all you coulda done." The unmistakable voice that was Gin's said from the entrance, closing the door behind him softly.

She jumped up in surprise. "Gin…!" She said as she realized what he'd just heard. Shit. How could she have forgotten he would come?!

The silver-haired guy attempted to brush their tension away with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head. "Ya don't hafta worry, ya two, we're all on the same side." He said, his smile not quite as big as it used to be.

Grimmjow looked at Gin with furrowed eyebrows, none of the tension leaving him the slightest at the former Shinigami's words. "And which side would that be?" He asked the guy, arms crossed.

The former Shinigami seemed to look at the two Arrancar alternately before answering - as if to make absolutely sure of something. "Not Aizen's." He then simply replied, his voice as un-humorous as his smile.

The both of them kept quiet, blinking as they stared at him. Was that guy trying to tell them what she thought he was? "What?" Was all she asked, demanding an explanation.

A bit of the guy's smile returned, but it wasn't quite like usual. "Well, I'm glad ta see my deception's not obvious, at least." He said not answering their question directly, but making the message clear nonetheless.

She looked at the guy with a surprised frown. "How long has it been like that..?" She slowly asked him, still not sure if she should believe what she was being told here.

"And how can you be so sure we're even on the same damn side as you? Who says we're not on Aizen's side?" Grimmjow piped in with a glare.

Gin's expression didn't change at all. "Grimmjow, ya never liked Aizen right from the beginning, 'specially not ever since Lucy's been comin' by now and an' then." He said, turning his gaze from the blue-haired Espada and to her. "An' Lucy. I think ya've learned some new things while on Earth, 'cause ya've been actin' a lil' different." He said with confidence, while the two just sort of gaped. Damn it, were they really that easy to read? "Now, Aizen's obviously also noticed this, but he's certain ya're not really on anyone's side right now. That's why he's tryin' ta draw the two of ya back in." He told them.

"Damn bastard." Grimmjow growled, clenching his jaw. I was frustrating that they'd been caught, but maybe it was also far too much to expect not to be.

"Now." Gin said, bringing attention back to himself before they got too far off topic. "As for how long I've been on 'not Aizen's side'. Well. Ever since I joined the Shinigami. I became one just so I could one day get him down fer all the things he's done." He replied solemnly.

She remembered Rangiku telling her about the times she and Gin were running around in the Rukongai slums. Apparently Gin'd seen something one day, which had him becoming a Shinigami. Did he see Aizen do something back then?

Gin continued without much of a pause. "An' I feel that day's gonna be soon." He said, finally placing himself in one of the chairs by the couch. "I'm afraid I won't be enough after all." He then added.

One corner of Grimmjow's lips tugged upwards as he leaned back a little. "So you're here to ask for our help, are you?" he asked almost amusedly.

The guy nodded slightly. "Yeah, I figured we'd look out fer each other" He confirmed. "Aizen's still not realized, so I'm still gettin' the inside-information. He doesn't tell me everythin' though. The trade's gonna be your help fer my information. An' the prize'll be Aizen's death. What do ya say?" He asked.

So he was not really going to reveal anything unless they said yes, huh? Though he'd told them so much about himself already… Was he really that confident they'd agree to his terms or did he have a trump card up his sleeve?

She looked to Grimmjow and he looked to her. Obviously, they both agreed on what to do in this situation. There wasn't much to discuss, really.

She looked to the Shinigami, who was seemingly calmly awaiting their reply. She gave him a sharp nod. "We're in, of course. We were planning to take him down too might as well put our heads together." She said.

Gin's shoulders sagged ever so slightly as whatever tension which'd built up left him. Well, looked like he hadn't been completely sure about it after all. "Good." He said as the first thing. "Then the first thing ya'll hafta know is that there's a bit of an addition ta his plan of takin' down the Soul Society." He said, continuing just before they asked him to. "In the process of it, he'll be making sure he'll be so powerful not even the Captain Commander can match him." He said.

She looked at him with a slightly crease between her brow. "How does he plan to get that kind of power?" She slowly asked him. To do something like that, when it wasn't training yourself up to it, you'd have to do something awful.

Gin sighed lightly. "Through killin' an' gainin' the equivalent of 100 souls." He revealed. "Somehow, if he does it right an' with the Hogyoku, he'll be getting' unmatched power." He explained.

She got a bad taste in her mouth. That was absolutely horrible to do. And 100 souls… It wasn't something you just went and got just like that

As if expecting it to come, he answered her unasked question. "He hasn't told the specifics of how he plans ta do it, but I'm guessin' he'll be usin' Karakura town fer it. He's been unusually interested in that place." He told them.

"Well… That'll be a fucking problem if he gets that far." Grimmjow grumbled mostly to himself. "So, what? He's going to be taking care of that shit in the middle of the war while the rest of us fight for him?" He asked, already annoyed at the thought of it.

Gin nodded. "Yes, that's my guess. He'd have ta do it then if it's gonna be of any use ta him in it anyway." He said.

"Damn…" She muttered, her head spinning with a million thoughts. If only there was something she could do. But it seemed like an impossible task to could stop Aizen before he began on all that. None of them had the power or chance to really do that, no matter how much they pitied the ones who would die just like that.

"He hasn't told me much more about it, I'm afraid, so I can't tell ya anythin' more." He said, clearly preparing to take his leave again. "Well, except that the two of ya should watch out, but ya already know that." He said.

"So basically the bastard's got something panned for us, as we thought?" Grimmjow asked for clarification. Gin was clearly the most knowledgeable out of all of them about that guy and his plans, so if anyone knew it'd be him.

"Well, I don't know what he's got planned, but I know he's got somethin' in store fer the two of ya." He replied, looking to Lucy, "'Specially Lucy. Prolly somethin' either with yer magic or Earthland. But I don't know." He told them, shrugging.

Grimmjow snorted. "Obviously. He wasn't just trying to be nice when he allowed her to go back there." He said, jabbing a thumb in her direction.

Gin nodded. "No, that was both in order ta pull ya back to his side, if ya were waverin', an' then ta give himself access ta that place. So yah.." He confirmed, pausing for a moment. "Most of that meetin' was about seein' where yer alliances were. He'd already figured he could use Orihime as bait. He did when he decided ta bring her here, actually. But that's how most of the meetin's are, really. Sorry ta burst yer bubble." He said to her.

She stared blankly back at him. Both understanding and not understanding what he was telling her. "So… There's always been that kind of hidden agenda during the meetings…? I never actually bring anything new to the table?" She asked. If that was true, everything just… Damn.

He tilted his head from side to side in a so-so manner. "Well, I wouldn't say ya haven't suggested somethin' new at all, but there's not much." He revealed.

Lucy rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. "Lovely." Was all she said. Well, this was extremely embarrassing. And naïve. Damn, she either overestimated herself or underestimated Aizen. Neither was good.

"Fucking hell…" Grimmjow muttered as well, probably thinking something similar to her - that they'd both been thoroughly played by that former Shinigami.

"Aizen's a strategic genius, don't ever doubt that. He knows just what ta say an' do ta make ya do or say somethin' specific. An' he's done that quite often. With everything. It's his favorite game." Gin said. "But it seems ta me he's had the most fun with Lucy, here. 'Cause yer not always as predictable as everyone else." He said, as if to cheer her up.

Grimmjow grunted. "So she's his favorite toy? That's fucking nice." He grumbled angrily. Gin said nothing, which basically confirmed it.

She sighed as another thought popped into her head. "So… What about Koga and Hikari? Those two friends of his from the Academy?" She asked, though she had a feeling she already knew what the former Shinigami was going to tell her.

He looked at her almost apologetically, knowing she already knew what he was about to say. "Sorry, but I've never heard any of those names before." He told her.

She sighed, having half expected that. So.. That story was all a lie too. She refused to believe, with her rational mind, that Aizen had gone and told her a story like that before he did Gin. It had all been a plot to make her like him more, for her to sympathize with him. And he succeeded

She growled under her breath, covering her head in her hands. "Fuck, I'm an idiot." She said, though it was low enough to be difficult for even a Dragon Slayer to hear.

"Nah. He's just that good." Gin corrected her, though it didn't make her feel the slightest bit better. "Well, but I think that's al fer now. I've been gone fer a long time now." He said, getting up from the chair and looking at the both of them a last time. "Despite everythin', I'm lookin' forward to workin' together with the two of ya. He said, then began walking towards the door.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at his back. "Before you go, Gin…" She said, making him look at her curiously over his shoulder. "Rangiku wanted to tell you that she still believes in you, even now." She said. If she could do nothing else, she could do that at least.

For just a moment, she was sure she caught a glimpse of something in those teal eyes of his, but he turned around before she could figure out what it was. "See ya 'round." He simply replied, then softly closed the door behind him.

* * *

 **Sooo~ Basically, everything even remotely connected with Aizen's basically been a lie. Lucy's been deceived to all hell from left and to right and Aizen's been having a boatload of fun deceiving her.**

 **I know it's short, but wouldn't you say this chapter makes up for it with all that's happening in it? Told ya it'd be speeding up a hell of a lot these last number of chapters.**

 **Oh, but don't let that distract you from that act that, not only did Lucy and Grimmjow have a short, adorable moment, but they're also both going to Earthland next chapter :3**

 **And yeah. A lot of deceptions have been unraveled in this one, gotta say. 3, at the very least.**

 **Well, hope you liked it! And thanks for reading, following as dutifully as you are, favoriting the story every time and commenting! Keep it up, guys~!**

 **~Line464d**


	21. Chapter 21 - Earthland

**Chapter 21 - Earthland**

 **Hey everyone! I hope you're as ready to tackle 2018 head-on as I am, because you don't got no choice now!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own either, of course. Obviously. I mean, you can't be surprised at this point, can you?**

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"Are you ready to go?" Aizen asked, looking at Lucy almost kindly.

She nodded curtly. "Yes." She replied confidently. In reality, she wasn't actually sure she was. But she wasn't sure she ever would be either, so she was just going to do it.

He nodded as well. "Good. Now then, have you tried opening a Garganta before?" He asked her, to which she could only shake her head. She hadn't ever needed to, so no, she hadn't. "You just have to visualize the place you want to go to in your mind and use your reiatsu to call out to it. The portal will appear before you know it." He told her.

Though a little unsure, she nodded. She could do this. She had to. It was now or never if she wanted to see everyone again. There was no going back now.

"Of course. I suggest you do not visualize somewhere filled with people. Usually, they do not work well with such a grand entrance." He said, somewhat amusedly as he seemed to remember a time where that had happened.

She nodded again. Yeah. Maybe showing up out of a grand portal like that in the middle of the guild hall wasn't such a great idea. Fairy Tail was all for grand entrances, but that still might be a little too much.

She already knew where to go, though.

"All right. I'm going to try." She told him and the others in the room firmly. And she was going to succeed.

"It's probably easier if you close your eyes, Kitten." Grimmjow told her from her right. He was keeping a little closer than usual, but that was probably not surprising.

She did as he suggested and closed her eyes, focusing on the memory of the place she had gotten so many wonderful memories in. She could easily remember it and all the many, many hours she'd spent there with the people she loved. And even the times without.

As she'd been told, she used her reiatsu and imagined it calling out to it. She creased her brow as she focused on truly summoning the path to that place. But nothing was happening, no matter how much she seemed to try.

"Don't think of it as summoning one of your Spirits. Earthland won't just come to you if you ask it nicely, Kitten. You have to create the damn path yourself." Grimmjow told her.

She nodded, understanding what he was trying to tell her and what she was doing wrong. She had to open the gate herself, there wasn't anyone here to help her in doing it.

She quickly pulled her reiatsu back and then tried again. Instead of passively waiting for a reaction, she instead reached out to the place she remembered so clearly. She imagined a strand of her reiatsu stretching out, ascending from this world and slipping into the other, paving a path between them.

When she suddenly felt a tug at her reiatsu and a poke at her shoulder, she opened her eyes to see the big portal opened in front of her like a tear in the universe.

She only barely managed not to gape at the sight before her. "I did it…" She muttered. The feeling wasn't strong, but she could feel her world through the Garganta.

That, you did. Quite impressive for a first time, I have to say." Aizen said. "Now then, I will come and pick you up when your time is up." He told her.

They both nodded. Now she could feel it, she got both more excited and more nervous to go there. Either way, it really was a shame they didn't have so much time to work with…

"But, for now, just enjoy yourselves." The former Shinigami ordered them. Exactly what she had in mind to do - forget about the troubles they were facing for a moment and just enjoy being back there.

She exchanged a quick look with Grimmjow and, with a nod, they took off without any other warning. As soon as they jumped through the Garganta, they reached the place she'd decided on as if they'd just stepped through a veil rather than travel through worlds.

The Garganta vanished behind them as they both looked around. "What's this girly-as-fuck place even supposed to be?" Grimmjow asked.

She smiled a nostalgic smile. "My old apartment." She simply replied. Everything was just as when she left it. She'd had a feeling those guys would make sure to keep it around and clearly she was right.

"Should've known. With all this pink shit, it could only be you." He said. The teasing it should have been was kind of betrayed by the fact that he was so clearly curious to see this place.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on it. It didn't deserve that much attention. She instead ran her fingers along one of the shelves. "Well, that's strange." She mumbled to herself.

"What is?" Grimmjow asked from across the room.

She frowned as she looked from her fingers and back to the shelves. "There's no dust here." She replied. Not even a single speck of it, either.

She didn't know what, but something made her look up and at the door to her bedroom. It wasn't entirely closed, but instead slightly askew. She slowly approached it and gingerly pushed it open. She peeked inside and then walked up to the bed. It looked the way it would have when she left it, but at the same time, something was off about it.

She reached down and touched it. It was still slightly warm. It had been used recently. She didn't need the single strand of salmon hair on the pillow to know who it was though.

She gently touched her upper lip as tears threatened to spill. "Oh, Natsu…" She whispered. Ever since she died, he'd probably stayed here, kept the place clean and paid the rent. She could faintly smell the scent of the vanilla soup she'd always used - a last attempt from him to keep her scent lingering in this little home. But she knew, because he'd told her himself, that it would never even get close to the real thing.

Almost feeling like she was prying into his privacy, she left the room and found Grimmjow still snooping around in the kitchen drawers. Now it kind of felt wrong to be here - it wasn't really hers anymore. This was Natsu's place.

She stepped forward, making sure the other Arrancar would hear her. When their eyes met, she gave him a little smile. "So? Ready to meet everyone?" She asked him.

He closed the drawer as he snorted. "You sure it isn't me, who's supposed to ask that question?" He asked her with a raised brow.

She sent him a slightly tender look. "Thank you.. But I'll be fine." She promised him. She knew, as soon as she saw everyone again, any anxiousness would fade away instantly. That was just how they were.

Going through the window as the door was locked, they ended up on the little, familiar street in front of the apartment. As soon as she saw the ledge she'd always walked on when she went to the guild, she couldn't resist walking up there again.

Knowing he'd be confused about what had gotten into her, she answered before he could even ask. "I always walked up here when I'd go to the guild. My smallest Spirit would usually walk where you are right now or right behind me." She told him with a fond smile.

A lopsided smirk grew on his face. "And what and upgrade that is." He said with an extra thick layer of arrogant pride covering his voice, making it obvious to her that he was joking around.

She playfully reached over and slapped his shoulder. "You wish." She teased back. He'd do anything to get a reaction out of her these days. "He's the most adorable, little guy you'll ever see." She said, giggling at the memory of the rattling, little guy.

He just shook his head. Yeah, she knew he thought she was crazy sometimes. And she'd gladly admit she was when it was about her Spirits.

They walked down one of the main streets - the direct route down to the guild. She was ecstatic to see it was as bustling with life as she remembered it being. Strangely though, not a single one of the many people here even glanced in their direction. It wasn't like the two of them really blended into the crowd with their stark, white clothes that matched and the clearly visible remnants of their Hollow masks. Besides, she knew all of these people knew who she was; she'd often greeted them in the mornings.

So why was not a single one of them looking at them?

Grimmjow had noticed the very same thing, but was much more calm about it. "Looks like the ordinary people here aren't any different from those at Earth." He stated. He only continued when she looked at him with a confused frown. "They can't see us." He clarified.

She looked around, realizing that to be true. None of them were looking at the two, but for some reason they steered around them. Entirely the same as what she'd only very shortly experienced at Earth.

"None of these people have magic…" She realized, but then another thought struck her. "So… Do you think everyone at Fairy Tail will be unable to see us as well?" She had to ask. The thought of it created a pit in her stomach.

He shook his head. "Nah. I think your magic is similar to our reiatsu in that way. And they all definitely got enough to see us bright and clear." He reassured her.

She nodded as well. He had to be right about that. He just had to.

It took no time before they reached the building. It was as big and towering, yet welcoming, as she remember it to be. Banners were waving around, proudly displaying the trademark insignia of the strongest guild in Fiore.

"This is it?" He asked, though it was already obvious. He'd seen her draw the symbol in the sand of the Hueco desert so many times already he couldn't possibly forget it at this point. And it was where they'd stopped up. It could be nothing else.

She nodded, though a little shakily. "Yeah, it's here." She confirmed as she rubbed her hands "Grim. Is it really right of me to be here? Now, after all this time?" She asked him. Would this just be rubbing salt into their wounds?

Besides, what would they think? She was dead, she wasn't supposed to ever see them again. Wasn't it wrong after all?

He looked at her incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me.. You've wanted this shit ever since you found out you were dead. You can't just let your only damn chance pass right in front of your fucking eyes." He told her. "Damn, you're a weird woman."

She couldn't help laughing at the last comment. He was right, she was weird. And he was also right about the fact that she'd wanted this for forever… She couldn't just back out now. Not that she could let him know that.

"In that case…" She said, as smile growing on her face. "There's only one right way to do this." She said, approaching the big, closed doors. There was only one way to open them - the Fairy Tail way.

She spun around easily and gathered the necessary force to straight up kick them open. Each one flew up, smashing into the back all violently. The sound had, of course, drawn the attention of every single person in there.

It was them. It was really them. She was seeing them all again. How long had it been now? They hadn't changed, not much. They all looked as she remembered they did. The hall looked like she remembered it did. It was all so.. Overwhelming.

But. She definitely couldn't back down now. So, slowly, she raised a hand, her gaze brushing over all of them once again. "Hello, everyone." She started rather awkwardly as she waved at them all. "God, how I've missed you all." She blurted out to the many gaping faces. She simply couldn't help herself any longer.

Levy stood up from where she'd been sitting next to Gajeel. Her hair was a little longer - just barely reaching past her shoulders now. She was as cute as ever though.

She took a careful step forward as she stared at the blonde. "L-Lu-chan… I-is that you?" She asked, clearly trying to avoid any possible heartbreak, if she was wrong.

Luckily, she wasn't wrong at all. Lucy smiled lightly at the girl she'd called her best friend. "Yes, Levy-chan. It's me." She confirmed.

Barely a fraction of a second passed before the petite girl had travelled the distance between them and latching onto Lucy almost desperately. "Lu-chan! I've missed you so much!" She almost yelled.

Lucy smiled at the sight of the trembling girl, feeling tears of her own threatening at the corner of her eyes again. She gently laid her arms around the girl's tiny form. "I missed you too, Levy-chan… Much more than you can imagine." She said, muttering the last part. She had missed this warm feeling of Fairy Tail so long, and she only now realized just how much.

She looked up when she heard someone else approaching with light footsteps. It was Mira. As beautiful as she always had been. "Lucy..? How.. It really is…" She stammered, unable to finish any of her sentences.

Lucy freed an arm from Levy and beckoned the barmaid closer. "Come on over here, Mira." She told the woman. She would not be able to keep the not-crying thing up for much longer if things continued like this.

The woman obeyed and quickly stepped into the blonde's embrace. "Oh, Lucy…" The woman sobbed in the blonde's arms. Lucy gently rubbed her back, not able to respond to her at all. Not that she knew what to say.

She only had a moment though as the two - though reluctantly - stepped away again, allowing for others to step in.

Of course, she didn't have to wait long for that to happen. "Lucy-san!" The youngest of the Dragon Slayers she knew yelled. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she dashed right for the blonde, her long pigtails flailing behind her.

Lucy easily caught the girl when she jumped at her, sticking to the blonde like a koala. She was as adorable as ever, if a little bit taller.

"W-welcome back…!" The young girl said, looking up at the blonde mage with her doe-like, brown eyes glistening with tears.

Lucy smiled, though a little sadly. "Thank you, Wendy." She replied, though she knew it wasn't as the Sky Dragon Slayer hoped. Lucy would not be able to stay here as things looked right now… She just didn't have the heart to tell those innocent eyes.

"Holy. What'd you do to get so damn sexy, girl?" The recognizably slurred words from the drunken mage rung out. Looked like she'd been at it all day - as usual.

Lucy laughed. "Not really anything, I think" She replied. She only died, turned into a cannibalistic cat and then to the very human-like hybrid she was now.

Cana grinned widely. "Got some sneaky tricks down in the underworld? 'Cause if you do, you have better share them..!" She told the blonde, sounding almost offended already. Though.. She was the first to touch on the subject of her death.

Not that that meant Lucy wouldn't sidestep it all the same. She raised a finger and wagged it in the air. "No can do. That's classified information." She teased right back. It relieved the tension which had built up in her to be so casual with the drunk again.

Cana gave her a big, genuine grin, she then hugged the blonde as well, not caring that poor Wendy was caught between them. "Man, you know, I missed this." She said, her voice trembling just slightly, almost unnoticeably.

Lucy nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "So did I, Cana." She replied. Though she had Harribel and the girls, it just wasn't the same as the girl-talks she'd had with Cana multiple times.

She let the two girls slip away from her, instead looking to the three people who were standing a little away.

Elfman was really making an effort to dry his eyes and erase any trace of the tears in them, but his bulging muscles weren't making it easy for him right now. Lisanna was right next to him, struggling to comfort the big guy.

Lucy smiled softly as she approached the two siblings, giving the younger a little wink before touching her brother's arm, both drawing his attention and stopping what he was so futilely trying to do. "Don't worry, Elfman. These kinds of tears are the manliest of them all." She reminded him.

The comment only made every single dam inside him break. "Yes… I'm a real man!" He yelled as loudly as ever, probably blind through the many, many tears. It only gave her the chance to send his sister a quick 'What can you do?'-look.

"Juvia accepts Love-Rival's return." The Rain-woman declared firmly.

Lucy smiled as Juvia's cold attitude was smashed into a thousand pieces as a single tear strolled down her cheek. "I'm glad to hear that, Juvia." She said, taking and gently rubbing the other woman's milky-white hand. If she wasn't all wrong, she was pretty sure she could actually hear the faint sound of beginning rain outside the building.

She looked from the Water mage and up at two of the people she had been looking forward to seeing the most. Both of them hadn't moved a single step ever since she showed up. Their mouths were slightly agape as they watched her with wide, teary eyes. Just the sight of the two of them was enough to make her heart twist in her chest.

She approached the two teammates she'd gone on so many missions with. The last faces she'd seen before dying. They remained frozen on the spot as she reached up to the both of them. She gently cupped their cheeks and brushed away the wetness under their dark eyes. In doing that, even more seemed to burst forward in them again.

She felt water rise in her own eyes, bringing along with it a stinging pain. She quickly slid her hands down to their necks and pulled them in for a hug, hiding her own face between their cold shoulders.

Erza and Gray were only frozen for a moment longer before they crushed her between the two of them. She felt a sob wrack though one of the three, but who it was, she couldn't tell.

No words were shared between them as they simply hugged each other close, but they didn't need to. It was too obvious. What they felt in this situation didn't need to be voiced.

Damn, she'd missed these people.

She reluctantly pulled away from the two again. She could've done this all day, but she didn't have all the time in the world and she knew everyone else was waiting for an explanation as well.

This time, Gray was the one to reach up and dry her eyes with a gentle stroke of his thumb and a soft look in his eyes. All while Erza was struggling to pull herself together.

Lucy looked back at them, positively beaming. None of them had changed; Erza didn't know how to conceal her overwhelming emotions and Gray had abandoned his shirt long ago. It was refreshing to see, to say the least.

"You do realize those are the wrong ears, right Bunny-Girl?" She heard a familiar voice say, forcing her to look away from those two.

Her own met the crimson eyes of the Iron Dragon Slayer's. She smiled. "Yeah, I realize that." She conceded. There wasn't much she could do about it though. Not that she wanted to - she quite liked the ones she had.

The guy approached her with the usual, amused smile of his and his trademark laugh, and pulled her in for a quick, one-armed hug and a pat on the back. "It's good to have you back."

Before she could even reply, a certain someone cut in. "Holy fuck. You're actually _all_ so fucking touchy-feely in here. That's crazy." Grimmjow grumbled the last part. He'd actually been pretty considerate and stayed at the door silently, where he'd avoided drawing much attention to himself. But it looked like he was craving a bit of the spotlight now.

As usual, she rolled her eyes at his comment. "Shut it, Grim." It couldn't surprise him; she had already told him how they were. And besides, she'd died suddenly and then she just as suddenly popped up again. Their reactions weren't surprising at all.

His presence was, though. And Cana was the first to react on it. "Lucy! You know this absolute snack?!" She yelled at the blonde while everyone else seemed more preoccupied by the fact that said blonde had cussed like that.

Seeing the growing smirk on the Espada's face and the knowing look he sent her, she sighed. "His ego really doesn't need this kind of praise…" She muttered to herself, though she knew most gathered here would be able to hear it just fine. "Yes, I know him." She confirmed, then gestured for him to introduce himself.

He did so with the cocky smirk still in place as he finally stepped inside the building. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The one who kept the little kitten over there from dying a second untimely death." He introduced himself.

She scowled at him. While he was kind of right - she wouldn't have survived Hueco without his guidance - the way he said it made it sound like she was the little child she had once been, who needed constant supervision. She wasn't helpless like that anymore, and he knew it.

Erza swallowed the story whole though, having not seen the look Lucy was sending the blue-haired guy, and rushed over to him. She placed an armored hand on his shoulder with a firm grip and looked into his eyes with the intensity only she had. "From the bottom of my heart, you have my gratitude. Had it not been for your valiant efforts, we would not have been able to see our precious friend and sister again. Thank you." She said, her sharp eyes brimming with tears at the thought once again.

And, as funny as it was to see, it really looked to be uncomfortable for him. He was staring at the redhead with a dumbfounded expression, at a loss for words. "You're… Welcome?" He basically asked. He never had been great at dealing with tears.

She smiled lightly at the sight. Erza really was as forward as always, even as she somehow still fought against her emotions. The complete opposite of what they were used to at Las Noches, where people easily hid their emotions and never really spoke clearly. Grimmjow didn't know how to deal with it, it seemed.

Light footsteps could be heard from the staircase. "So I take it this doesn't change the fact that our dear Lucy is indeed dead?" And old voice asked. The one, which could only belong to one man.

She whirled around as the tiny elder approached. "Master!" She greeted him, to which she was returned a sad smile through his beard. He wanted the answer… She nodded. "Yes, I am still dead. My body is still in the ground with Mama and Papa." She confirmed, getting somewhat confused stares.

One of them came from the Ice-Make mage himself. "So, if you're still… Dead… How can you be here right ow?" He asked her, the question they all wanted answered.

She looked around at everyone. "It's a longer story…" She told them slowly. "But one I intend to tell you all." She said, to which she now got excited smiles. "Before that, though." She told them clearly, calming them down enough to listen to her again. "We're missing a few people… Where is Natsu?" She asked them, a question that had been bothering her for a while now. He was nowhere to be seen around here and she couldn't sense him. "And Laxus and his gang?" She added.

Mira smiled at her. "Laxus and the others are on an S-class mission right now. We never know when they'll return." She explained.

Lucy nodded. S-class missions were usually up-in-the-air like that. Either you finish it in a day or less or it would take several weeks. There was no in-between with those.

"And Natsu…" She trailed off, clearly teasing Lucy, judging by her growing smile. "He'll be back before the end of the day." She promised the blonde. "It could be anytime now."

Lucy couldn't help it - she lit up in a smile. Natsu was… Natsu, after all. She missed him more than anyone else, especially now she'd reunited with everyone. "Good, I'm glad to hear that." She said, there was no use hiding it after all. They all knew that, whether she said it or not. "How is he?" She then asked, remembering the sight of his broken back the last time she saw him and the dark promise he'd made in the infirmary.

Mira hesitated, needing a few tries before she got something out. "He's… Struggling a little bit…" She then said those very carefully picked words.

Gajeel snorted from where he was standing with his arms crossed across his chest. "Struggling, my ass. He's changed completely this last year." He grumbled almost angrily. When he got a look from Mira, he spread his arms out. "What? Doesn't she deserve the damn truth? She's going to see it for herself in a moment anyway." He replied.

The first thing that registered was the fact that he'd said a 'year'. Had it really been a year already? Maybe she just didn't perceive time the same at the early stages as a Hollow, but it certainly didn't feel like a whole year to her yet. At the same time… Maybe it wasn't so unlikely. She didn't know - she hadn't kept any sort of track of it back in Hueco at all.

Next thing she realized was the fact that Mira had tried to hide the truth about him from her. Was he really that bad? To the extent of them trying to sugarcoat it?

"I want to know the truth." She told them firmly. There was nothing to discuss here. They had to tell her the absolute truth about what was going on with him.

Surprisingly, Lisanna was the one who picked this mantle up. "It's as Gajeel says, Lucy. He hasn't been the same." She told the blonde, an almost fierce look in her eyes. "When you died, he disbanded Team Natsu. He only goes on solo-missions now. Doesn't even bring Happy all the time - like right now, where Happy's out with Carla and Pantherlily. He never fights in the guild-hall, no matter how much Gajeel and Gray bait him." She explained, her voice beginning to tremble a little. "It's like he doesn't have any motivation to do anything. I haven't even seen him smile all this time!" She almost yelled. It was obvious how much this girl cared for the Fire Dragon Slayer. But that was hardly a surprise, considering their history together. "All he ever does is search for the one who killed you!" She straight out blamed the blonde, magic flaring up around her small form in a reaction to her emotions.

"Lisanna!" Mira yelled, but was completely ignored.

Lucy felt Grimmjow's presence behind her in an instant, but she quickly put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Don't." She simply said, her eyes never leaving the young girl, who blamed her for Natsu's current situation. Though reluctantly, he took a step back. But he was ready if anything should happen still.

Elfman put a hand down on his fuming sister's shoulder, bringing her back to reality with that single touch. "Lisanna's anger faded, turning into violent tears and red cheeks instead. "I-I'm so sorry, Lucy…!" She told the blonde before falling to her knees at the weight of her emotions.

Lucy gingerly approached the girl, squatting down in front of her. "Lisanna. Would you look at me?" She asked, catching the gaze of a beautiful pair of sapphire eyes through dainty fingers and tears. "I understand completely. It _is_ my fault this happened to him." She told the girl honestly. Had she not jumped straight in front of that sword, this could've been avoided.

She couldn't blame the girl for feeling this way - had their roles been reversed, she wouldn't have felt any differently.

She heard someone behind her begin to protest, but only lifted a single finger to silence them. The other, she extended to the girl. "Help me get him back to the Natsu we both know and love?" She asked with a tiny smile.

The girl shyly peeked out through her fingers, muttering something the blonde could only barely hear; 'wonder' and 'chose you'. That was all she caught. But it was enough to guess what the girl had said. Before she could respond to it though, the girl had taken her hand in both of hers. "We'll get Natsu back for sure." She replied bravely.

Lucy smiled, letting the first comment slide for now. "That's good - I can't do it alone." She said, pulling the girl up and giving her a last, soft look before turning around to everyone. "Well, I don't think I can procrastinate it any longer. Let me explain everything."

* * *

Grimmjow suppressed a grunt for the umpteenth time during Lucy's story-telling. Talk about sugar-coating. She didn't even tell these guys she was a Hollow or that they had to feed to get stronger, only that they were on a mission to get stronger. And everything about it being a parallel world and stuff.

She, of course, didn't tell them jack-squat about the times she spent being a Hollow in this world either. That, he understood though.

But still. He wouldn't have felt right telling these people lies like that if he had been in her shoes. But that was her choice, he wouldn't mess with that. Too much.

Instead, he did as they had agreed on before they even took off. He pulled their leader - or guild master or whatever they called him - aside for a little man-to-man talk.

It was hard to believe this grandpa was really as powerful as she said, but he already knew not to underestimate people just because of shit like that. "There's something I've got to tell you." He started out, getting a nod from the old-timer. "Despite what she's saying over there, things aren't all rainbows and unicorns where we're at." He told the old man.

The master let out a heavy sight. "I figured she wasn't telling the entire truth, her smile is not as bright as it used to be." He said, casually revealing he was much more perceptive than he let on. Damn old people… "But, we are used to facing struggles here as well." He then told the Espada.

For a moment, Grimmjow could only stare at the old dude. Was he being serious, here? "No. This is nothing like what you guys have ever faced." He then said, getting annoyed when he saw the offended look on the old man's face. "Listen, Grandpa, every day is a fight to stay alive over there, okay? We're at war, and we're not on the good guys' side either." He said, his voice more hushed, so that even the sharp ears wouldn't catch what he said. "We're surrounded by people who will fucking kill us and everyone we know if we make a slight mistake." He said, taking a breath to calm himself down and to give the old guy a break. "We came here to warn you. We have a manipulative ass for a boss, and we have no clue where we've got him. For all we know, he might kill you all off just to make sure he's got Lucy where he wants her to be."

There was a pause for a moment. "I wasn't aware you were going through something so awful…" The old guy muttered, obviously flabbergasted at the fact, which had just been presented to him - and he didn't even know the full story yet. But Grimmjow'd let Lucy tell him that part, this was enough to get the geezer's attention.

The Espada nodded. "Obviously you wouldn't. She'd rather lie to your damn faces than have you worry about her." He said, inwardly rolling his eyes as he remembered her strange reluctance to even come here earlier. "But that's why I'm here." He then said. She couldn't say it, so he had to do it for her.

The old guy nodded. "What do you want us to do? I am listening." He promised the Arrancar. About fucking time he did too.

"Just to prepare yourselves in case he actually does decide to bring the war here or something, I don't know." He said, shrugging lightly. "She said something about one of you being good at creating barriers or something. Just be ready if a fight'll be brought here." He said.

The old guy nodded, hanging onto every word. "Yes, that must be Freed she is referring to. We will procure something." He said.

Grimmjow nodded as he realized something else. "Earlier mentioned boss will come here and pick us up when our time's up here. Make sure to remember his face. If you ever see him here again - run for your fucking lives." He basically ordered the old guy.

The geezer frowned, then shook his head. "Running never has been our style. We will stand and fight till our last breaths." He told the younger guy proudly.

Grimmjow glared at him. "And that's exactly what's gonna happen if you try to fight that bastard." He said, feeling white-hot flames burst to life in him. "Aizen is no damn joke. He's fucking dangerous. All of you here combined will never even come close to defeating him." He growled, the only alternative he could find to shouting at the moment. "He's way out of your damn league - it's exactly the same as when you faced that dragon you fought at the island. Don't even underestimate that guy - he'll destroy you as soon as you do." He warned him, not even aware he'd stepped forward until he could basically touch the dwarf's balding head if he reached out a little.

Maybe he had been a little harsh on this guy, but at least he understood the severity of what they were facing right now. That was all he could and would do for them.

It took a moment of processing- in which Grimmjow had returned to leaning against the wall with crossed arms, watching the crowd around Lucy, figuring the conversation he'd had over - but then the old guy turned to him.

"Thank you for the warning and advice. We will take all the necessary precautions." He promised the Arrancar.

"Better be quick about it then, it'll be less than 12 hours till the war begins." Grimmjow replied with an almost amused smirk. "Besides. Don't thank me, thank her." He added, nodding to the blonde, who his eyes had yet to leave since returning there. "It was her idea and her that told me to tell you." He told the old guy.

The old man chuckled lowly, patting the Arrancar on the leg, as he could barely even reach the shoulder. "There is no need for you to be shy around us, boy." The old man reassured him, leaving to go up the stairs again.

Grimmjow grunted. What the hell was that old geezer even talking about?

The question was left unanswered as basically everyone's attention was drawn to the slowly opening door. Moment later, a haggard, unkempt guy with blindingly pink hair stepped in, slumping down on one of the barstool. He didn't even flinch under all the attention he was getting or the rapidly tensing atmosphere.

"Mira. A milkshake, please." He said, his voice as dead as Aizen was going to be before this war was over. No, literally though, it was completely empty and void. Of anything. Just entirely monotone.

"Coming right up!" The woman with white hair and an absolutely disgusting, cutesy, frilly dress called out, stepping behind the desk and looking straight at the guy. With a beaming smile, no less. "But before that, I have a little surprise for you, Natsu." She said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

 _That_ was Natsu? This absolutely dry and boring, completely flat and broken person was the Fire Dragon Slayer Lucy had gone on and on about for hours? She had actually loved this hobo-wannabe?

"I'm not in the mood for this right now, Mira." He said. Not that it looked like he was ever in the mood for anything at all. He honestly looked like he didn't give a single shit about anything.

From the corner of his eye, Grimmjow saw Lucy step out from the crowd and approach the pinkie. The look on her face had something twisting knots on itself in his stomach. That look should not be directed at that hobo.

The barmaid only smiled even brighter. "Oh, I think you'll like this one." She said, reaching over the counter and spinning him around on his stool so that he was now facing the blonde.

At first, he honestly looked like a dead fucking fish. But then his eyes slowly travelled up until they, now wide, seemed to meet Lucy's brown ones. It even took a moment for him to speak with how he was stupidly opening and shutting his mouth. "L-Lu… Impossible…" He muttered, those pathetic words being the only thing he could say.

Grimmjow leaned back, clenching his jaw as he forced himself not to look at her likely beaming face right now. How the fuck did a guy like him get two girls running after his ass, even after death?

* * *

Lucy barely heard what he or Mira said in her own wonder at seeing him again. He hadn't cleaned, cut or shaved for days, that was obvious, and likewise he also lacked the energy he usually had. It was even worse than what she had imagined from Lisanna's speech.

But when Mira turned him around to face her, she saw some of the Natsu she knew flicker in his eyes. And it rendered her completely speechless. She was actually standing in front of him again.

One moment, he was staring at her from his seat on the stool. The next, the stool was empty and she was enveloped in his comforting warmth.

"You're real…" She heard him whisper as he both held her as gently as had she been a porcelain doll and so tightly she could barely breathe properly. "You're really here…" He whispered, his voice shaking so much his words were only barely audible at all.

She wiggled her arms out and managed to wrap them around him as well, holding him as closely as he did her. "Yes, I'm here, Natsu. I'm here." She assured him, nodding lightly, not minding the stubble she felt rubbing against her cheek.

When he breathed in deeply, letting a new whiff of her scent again after such a long time, a tremor caused by his emotions wracked through hi. He dropped his head to her collarbone, where she felt warm droplets trail down her skin. That sensation alone made it impossible for her to hold her own indoors.

A sob flew through her almost painfully, causing Natsu to whimper in response and tightening his grip on her just a little possessively. She only sobbed even louder as she found that his actions didn't send that spark flying through her that it once had. That was what was truly sad about this whole situation.

She sighed through her tears. Things really had changed without her noticing it at all. It was so scary to think about.

Worse was it to think of how he had suffered this last year. While she had been getting somewhat comfortable in her new life, getting new friends and everything, Natsu had never forgotten her. Not even a single day.

He was, unfortunately, just that kind of guy. She had thought she was too, but… Evidently, she was not.

Luckily, everyone present had enough situational awareness to know not to interrupt - impressively enough, Grimmjow knew as well. He was usually, intentionally or not, pretty awkward about things like this. But she appreciated his momentary perceptiveness nonetheless.

With the both of them finally having dry eyes, she pushed back from the Fire Dragon Slayer again. It was also getting slightly weird as she knew literally every single person in this room was watching them right now.

He wouldn't let her go completely though, as he instead decided to rest his forehead against hers. "I really missed you, Luce." He said, looking straight into her eyes with his own onyx ones. So full of love and tenderness.

She smiled softly back at him. "I missed you too, Natsu." But that nickname wasn't the one, which would make her heart skip a beat any longer.

She couldn't stand looking into those eyes of his any longer and averted her gaze - she shouldn't be on the receiving end of a look like that. Not his. Not after everything that had happened. She didn't really feel right, since she couldn't answer it with the same intensity she once could.

But then she caught sight of something else, which was impossible for her to ignore. No matter how ill-fitting it may be. "Are those…?" She trailed off, pausing as her brain struggled to keep up with her. "My… Keys?" She finally managed to say, so that Natsu could actually understand what she was trying to tell him.

"Oh…" He said, looking down to his hip and breaking the physical contact between them. A certain, little pouch was attached there. "Yes." He confirmed, reaching down and unclasping it. "I've kept them on me ever since…" He trailed off. They all knew when he was talking about though, and there was no reason to really bring that day up right now.

When he held the little, brown bag out to her, she eagerly took it. Inside were, of course, every single Spirit key she had ever owned, shining back at her in bright gold and silvers.

It took only a moment before they all seemed to recognize her and heated up. Just from touching them, she felt the love each of them had for her and that she shared with them equally. To think she had basically forgotten how it felt to have the cool metals and the warmth of their friendship at her side so readily.

She couldn't resist crushing them all to her chest, almost not noticing it when Natsu spoke up again. "I tried finding someone who would be worthy of taking care of them, but… I didn't find anyone, so…" He explained, scratching the back of his head.

She smiled at him. "Thank you for taking such good care of them, Natsu." She told him honestly. Natsu probably took even greater care of them, especially when it came to who could own them, than even she did.

He smiled back at her, some of his confidence returned to him. "I actually taught myself a little bit of Celestial magic.." He told her. It was close she'd actually made him laugh with the expression she revealed.

She was staring at him, absolutely flabbergasted. "You what now?" She asked him directly.

Not only was having the capabilities and will to learn a second magic impressive enough. No, what made it seem even more impossible was the fact that it was so far from his first magic - the Fire Dragon Slaying one. Not just because one was a Caster magic and the other a Holder, it went all the way down to the nature of the two, even. They were so far apart it was hard to believe.

And that was not even mentioning the fact that Celestial magic was one of the hardest to learn in the first place.

She stared at him for a moment longer, before shaking her head with a soft smile. "A lot can happen in a year, huh?" She asked rhetorically.

They were brought out of their little world when Mira clasped her hands together. "And that's not the only thing that happened in that year." She said with the usual glint in her eyes - the one she reserved for anything related to couples. "Our family's going to be getting a little extension!" She squealed, already bouncing up and down.

Lucy didn't miss the look the barmaid sent the petite Script-mage. The blonde's attention whipped straight to the blue-haired woman. "No way, Levy-chan… Really?!" She asked, miraculously enough not bouncing up and down as Mira was.

A clear shade of pink covered Levy's cheeks. "W-well.. After you… You know… We kind of got closer." She explained, looking up at Gajeel, whose big hand she had clasped in her own. "Ad when… Jet and Droy also… One thing led to another, and now I guess I'm going to be a mother." She said with a smile that disguised so much pain.

Lucy felt her words like a jab to her stomach. "Jet and.. Droy?" She slowly repeated, memories she had long since buried resurfacing in her mind.

She didn't even realize she had spoked out loud until Gajeel himself decided to explain. "Some kind of disgusting monster destroyed several towns and tortured and killed thousands of people. Those two were two of many victims to it. Died right in front of her." He said, pulling a silently suffering Levy closer to his chest. "We still don't know what it was - it disappeared suddenly - but we figure it's one of Zeref's." He explained.

Lucy stared blankly at the two, her mind a whole other place than her body, which began to ache at the memories his words brought forward. "I… I'm sorry." She vaguely told them, not able to say anything more in this state. She shook herself out of it and forced a stiff smile. "But I'm sure the both of you will make for wonderful parents." She said earnestly, while she tried to ignore the daggers which were stuck to her heart. It felt like her mind was blanking completely while her emotions went haywire.

She was kicked right out of it with Grimmjow's next words. "Kitten. He's here." He simply told her.

Lucy looked at him for a moment, then also felt it. Somewhere, not too far away, Aizen had appeared. "Shit… Already?" She grumbled primarily to herself.

Gray got up with a frown, not understanding their little interaction. "What's going on - who's here?" He asked, looking from one to the other while Natsu stared at Grimmjow as if it was only now he learned of his presence.

Grimmjow was the one to answer. "Our pick-up's arrived." He simply replied, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning against.

He had barely finished that sentence when a knock was heard by the door. "I apologize if I am interrupting anything, but I am afraid I cannot give you two any more time." Aizen said smoothly, not even caring about the many strange looks he was getting.

Lucy sighed, then nodded. "One moment, then we will be with you:" She promised him. This really wasn't enough time, she'd only barely scratched the surface of what had happened this year.

Aizen replied with a nod. "I will be waiting outside." He said before disappearing again, his menacing presence leaving with him.

Only when the former Shinigami was definitely out of ear-shot did Natsu speak up. "Luce, you can't go with that man." He said, a hand on her shoulder. When she looked curiously up at him, he elaborated. "Something's not right about him:"

She smiled. It had to be useful to have senses like that at least once in a while. "I know. But I have to go. He's… My new guild master. I have to go." She told him. Whether he liked it or not, that was how it was going to be.

He frowned, accepting she had to go. Sometimes he was as perceptive as an eagle, now was one of those times. When she held the pouch out to him again, he shook his head and pushed them back. "No. If you have to go, you have to at least have your keys with you." He demanded.

She looked at him amusedly. "I'll be fine without them." She promised him, forcing them into his hands. "Besides… They're not really safe with me in that place…" She added.

He stared at her for a moment, then surprised her by drawing her in for another quick hug. "When can I… We, see you again?" He then asked her.

"It won't be long." She promise him, pushing him back again. He'd never let her go if she didn't just go ahead and go right out of here. "There are a few things I need to take care of first, but it won't be more than a week." She said. The war would start in only a few hours. After it was over, she would return.

Natsu frowned even deeper. "I don't understand, but… Just come back, okay?" He asked of her.

Now Grimmjow stepped forward, impatience clearly gripping him. "Don't worry, Pinkie. I'll make sure she gets out of it in one piece." He said, then looked at her as Natsu adopted a horrified look. "We have to go." He told her intensely. She glanced around at everyone's sad faces and was about to protest when he cut her off, already knowing what she was going to say. "You really want to make him wait?" He asked her with a low voice, so that not everyone would catch it, at least.

She sighed and shook her head. No, she didn't. So, she turned around to everyone and bowed lightly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't stay any longer, but we're on a tight schedule right now… I'll make sure to be here longer next time!" She promised them, smiling and waving as she went out, both of them flooded with goodbyes from everyone.

This would be the last calm before a very long storm.

* * *

 **Long chapter is long, huh?**

 **Well, hope you liked it! And I also hope you felt like the visit was short and incomplete - because that's exactly what it is and most importantly, what Lucy feels that it is.  
But yeah. She still got to see everyone and it **_**was**_ **a kind of nice break from everything, wasn't it? You could almost call it an OVA, except it has extremely significant plot-development elements in it. So yeah.**

 **And, if that last line isn't foreshadowing, I don't know what the hell is…! XD**

 **I'll just have you all know, though it was only barely I managed to finish up this chapter on time. So I really hope you appreciate it! Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and of course, commenting!**

 **~Line464d**


	22. Chapter 22 - A Lion's Confession

**Chapter 22 - A Lion's Confession**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: As of right now, neither Tite Kubo nor Hiro Mashima feel like sharing. So… Damn it all?**

* * *

"Your time has been pleasant, I hope?" Aizen asked as he led them through the Garganta that he'd opened himself just outside the city. Magnolia or some shit.

Grimmjow glared at the bastard walking in front of them. He knew there was nothing she could answer that wouldn't be in his damn favor. He really wouldn't give them a fucking break, would he?

Lucy nodded slowly, probably realizing the same thing he did. "Yeah, it was… Nice." She replied. There was no use lying to this bastard either - he knew the truth already. And clearly her mind was too messed up to could quickly come up with the right things to say after something like this. But he knew that shit too.

Grimmjow grunted and looked ahead, realizing that they were in the meeting room, where they'd taken off from a little more than an hour ago.

Fucking hell. The bastard just wanted to soften her up so she was even easier to manipulate for him. Damn him and damn his fucking games. Damn all his shit.

"Again. I do apologize that we could not give you any more time, however the war truly is upon us as it looks right now." Aizen said, almost actually sounding sorry.

Lucy nodded, though her head clearly was a whole other place than in this conversation. Honestly, she just looked like she wanted to go back there again. Where there was no war, no Aizen's out to ruin her life, no killing other people and back to that Fire Dragon Slayer or whatever the fuck he was.

Fucking hell.

"Well, we do have to get the meeting arranged in not too much time." The bastard spoke up again. And that meant the bastard would be 'needing' to speak to his little kitten before that and actually 'make' the plans. As if the dick didn't have all this shit figured out already. "How about you come to us in a half an hour or so, Lucy? That should give you enough time to… Collect yourself after everything and to consider what you think we should do." He suggested, though it wasn't really up for questioning. That was how it was going to be.

She sighed almost inaudibly and then nodded. "That sounds fine. I'll meet you in half an hour, then." She replied, already taking off.

Giving the bastard a last look, Grimmjow followed her out. They walked at a somewhat brisk pace down the hallway, none of them saying a word.

Obviously, with all the things they now knew for sure about that guy, they were less than excited to have to go see him again. Especially now he was suspicious of them. Or more specifically - of her. He was already a bitch to deal with; this would just make it worse.

In no time, they'd reached the wing and immediately the both of them plopped down in the comfortable couch, still silent. Another moment went and passed before he felt her sort of tipping over. Completely out of the blue, she was now lying with her head in his damn lap.

She breathed out deeply. "I'm so tired." She told him, her eyes already closed as she seemed to make herself comfortable.

He grunted, almost laughed "Sorry to say, Kitten, but this fucking day isn't even close to over yet." He reminded her. It had only just begun, actually. The war was going to have to - at the very fucking least - start before they could even call it a day. And before that, there was all the planning that needed taking care of. Which meant a long meeting for her and the Shinigami first, and then another just as fucking long and boring meeting with the rest of the fuckheads they called the Espada afterwards. It was _far_ from over.

She sighed deeply again, moving to lie on her side with her back to him. "Yeah, I know." She told him flatly. He could see how her head was already spinning from here - even from this strange angle and with her eyes closed. She was planning what to say at that meeting, if he had to guess. She really wouldn't be getting any breaks at all.

He resisted growling out loud. Tiring her out was probably also part of that fucking bastard's shitty plan. Just so she wouldn't be as clear in the head.

Well, too bad for him that she wasn't that easy to get down. She might be tired but she was still sharp.

He looked down at her. Though… Not as sharp as she usually would or should be, dealing with him. "I'll wait right outside the door. Just.. Do something and I'll bust right in and choke the life out of that bitch." He told her.

Her eyes opened and she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, a light shake to her head. "You don't have to. I still have Gin in there with me if things should go that wrong. I doubt they will though, Aizen's probably too focused on getting this war over with." She said.

But what if he had wanted to, though? "You really trust that guy that much already?" He asked, not really feeling like having that kind of conversation with her again.

She gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry, I've learned my lesson. I don't trust that snake completely yet." She promised him. "But I do trust that he wants to take Aizen down as much as we do. And that he realizes that he can't do it without the both of us at this point." She then added, making herself comfortably again, nuzzling into his lap a little.

"Fair enough" He muttered, at a loss for words otherwise. She'd gotten extremely impulsive with things like this ever since she'd returned from Earth. Like she needed the physical contact or some shit like that

Well, whatever. It wasn't like he minded it either way.

He leaned back in the couch, letting the arm that'd been lying over the backrest fall down to rest on her hip instead. Only to feel it bulging strangely through the shorts she was wearing as usual.

He frowned. "You got something in your pocket?" He asked her. Normally, she didn't really carry anything with her other than her zanpakuto. She'd probably never used these damn pockets either. And whatever she had in there was metal or something like that. And little. He couldn't recognize it at all.

She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed even as she spoke. "No. Why do you ask?" She asked, too far away in her own thoughts to really take note of the strange question.

"'Cause-" He started out, pausing as he reached down in her pocket and fished whatever was in there out. "You got this thing in it." He finished off, looking at the thing he'd fished out.

It looked to be a golden key with a lot of small details on it all over. It didn't take him long to figure out just what this was.

She opened her eyes and looked at what he was holding, then whipped up in a sitting position, tearing the thing out of his hands. "This is Loke's key!" She blurted out loud, all tiredness and foggy-mindedness completely gone as she stared at the thing with wide eyes. Kinda impressive she could recognize it immediately like that. "How is it here?!" She yelled, looking at him as if she expected him to know the answer to that.

He just shrugged. How the hell should he know how it'd ended up here?

She looked back down, staring hard at it until her expression softened with realization. "Natsu slipped it in there back when he hugged me as we left… Damn it, so stubborn." She muttered, then growled.

Grimmjow raised his brows at that as well. So.. Even seeing her back then hadn't been enough for the guy to accept she was strong enough to take care of herself now without the help of others? That was just fucking disrespectful.

He looker to her as she just looked at the little thing in wonder. "So what're you going to be doing with it, then?" He asked her. The last things she'd told the brainless idiot without eyes or ears on his head was that they wouldn't be safe here. And that was absolutely correct.

She got up from the couch and began walking towards the gym, her eyes never leaving the key. "I'm going to summon him and have him take his key back to Natsu. I can't keep it here even if it's just a day." She told him. "Besides, I have a few things I want to ask him as well."

Curious, he got up and followed her. He'd always wanted to know what it looked like when she used her magic like it was supposed to be used. And then to see what those Spirits of hers really looked like. For himself.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned against the wall and simply watched as she went out to the middle of the gym.

* * *

It felt really strange, nostalgic even, to have this particular key back in her hand again. How long hadn't it been already? A year or so, right? And how many times hadn't she called for this Lion when she was in a pinch and Natsu was unavailable? Or sometimes just to talk and pass the time? Many more than she could count, that was for sure.

This Spirit had always been by her side in a heartbeat, f she even so much as thought of summoning him. Sometimes even when she wasn't He was always there for her. Even here, in the afterlife.

She held the key out in the stance, which had become completely natural and automatic for her body over time. Even as unsure as she was of what she was about to do - whether she could even do it after all this time and as she was now. Yet it seemed to move all of its own.

Her magic, as well, seemed to be almost excited to do this again and was basically already flowing out to the key the way it as supposed to do.

She couldn't help the smile, which tugged the corner of her lips upwards, as she closed her eyes and just let the feeling of it all rush through her and bring her back in time "Open, Gate of the Lion." She calmly spoke, taking her time with it as it would likely be a very long time, if ever, till she would try it again. "Leo." She finally said, opening her eyes again.

She didn't want to miss the view of the beautiful, golden magic-circle, which appeared on the ground in front of her, after all. The familiar look of the intricate swirls and details in the circle had already been imprinted in her memory, where it was unlikely to disappear from.

Though it seemed to take up a little more magic than she remembered, the circle was soon replaced by the Lion Spirit himself. He was standing there, as proudly as ever, all dressed up in his black suit, his glasses over his eyes and his warm, orange hair jutting out in every direction.

Other than the look in his eyes, he looked completely the same as he always had.

He was just staring at her, mouth agape and him otherwise completely still. He reached up, pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes as if he thought it was all a dream. Of course, she was still there, even when he opened his eyes again.

"Lucy.. Princess… So it was really you…" He muttered in a fragmented sentence.

She genuinely smiled when she heard that nickname, which she hadn't heard for so long. "Yeah, it was really me you a felt earlier." She confirmed, knowing what he was thinking.

He looked confused for a moment, his brows knitting together. "But… How is this possible? Aren't you supposed to be…?"

"Dead?" She finished his sentence, then nodded. "Yes, and I still am. Really, I don't think this should be possible at all." She added thoughtfully, then shook her head. "But that can wait a little." She said, the spread her arms out to him invitingly. "I've missed you, Loke."

He smiled and quickly stepped forward to wrap her in his tight and comforting embrace, which she'd also been without for so long. "And I you, Princess." He replied, squeezing her lightly. A sudden huff of laughter escaped him. "It really hasn't been the same to say 'your knight in shining armor has come to your rescue' ever since Natsu's been keeping the keys." He revealed, sounding amused at the thought.

She giggled, none of them really hearing Grimmjow snort behind her. "No, I can imagine it wouldn't be." She said, imagining a scene where that would happen in her head. No matter what, Natsu's expression would be priceless.

"Next time you do that, make sure you do it somewhere I can see it, cat." She heard Grimmjow say behind her, clearly not as willing to stay out of the spotlight this time as he had been earlier.

Well, it was fine, then they could get the introductions out of the way immediately.

She pulled away from the surprised Spirit and gestured to the Arrancar behind her. "Loke, this is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the one who 'kept me alive', as she would tell you. And Grim, this is Loke, the Lion Spirit I've been telling you about." She introduced them, though she knew full-well Grimmjow knew exactly who Loke was as soon as she told him it was his key.

The blue-haired Espada pushed off the wall and approached the two of them. "Nice to meet you or whatever you're supposed to say in situations like this." Grimmjow said, putting his hand out to the Lion. Now there weren't several people he'd have to be introduced to, he acted much more civilized about it. In general though, he'd been really respectful - given this was him at least - and she couldn't appreciate it enough.

Loke nodded, giving the other guy a sort of unsure smile as he clasped his hand in the one offered to him. "Yeah, nice to meet you. And thank you for 'keeping her alive'" He added.

Grimmjow grunted. "It's been real hard fucking work, I tell you." He said, getting a glare from her. With a smirk, he continued. "But she can almost take care of herself now, so it's fine." He added.

She rolled her eyes. What that 'almost' implied, she already knew. She was too trusting. Fucking ass just had to put it in there.

Loke didn't comment on it, though. "That's really good to hear." He told the Arrancar, looking to her. "Now, uh, if you don't mind… Where am I, exactly? I can feel that this isn't Earthland and definitely not the Celestial world, so…" He trailed off, looking around the room as if he actually expected to find the answer that way.

She nodded, having expected that the question would come sooner rather than later. "You're right; it's none of those places. You're in Hueco Mundo, a place for the dead for Earth, a parallel world to ours. Just like Edolas." She explained.

"A parallel world?" He sked, to which he got a nod. "How did you even end up here, Princess?" He asked her. The idea of parallel worlds wasn't foreign to them at all, so that definitely wasn't what threw him off.

"I can't know for sure, but I think there's some sort of rift between the two worlds." She explained to him. "And, the reason I ended up over here was.. Because the guy that killed me was someone from this world. I'm guessing my coming into direct contact with the other world and dying by the hands of it naturally sent me here." She added.

For now, there was no reason to tell him that that very person was also here, in this building. Less than 500 meters away from them.

"So you've been here ever since you passed away…?" He asked slowly, a strange expression on his face.

She nodded. "Yeah, basically." She confirmed, wondering what he was thinking. Because something clearly fell into place for him with this.

"Huh…" He said, pushing his glasses up on his nose again. "That explains a lot." He simply said, not revealing anything else unless prodded.

And Grimmjow wasn't of the patient type. "Explains what?" He asked, his arms crossed in front of him in his impatience. She looked at the Lion Spirit with slightly tilted head, as curious as the Espada was - if not even more so.

Loke looked from one to the other, then breathed in deeply. "Why we haven't been able to find her at all." He told them.

She frowned. "Found me? What do you mean?" She asked him. She felt like she was at the tip of learning something, which would completely change the way she saw things.

And she wasn't wrong.

He continued again after a short pause. "It isn't commonly known, but you don't just disappear when you die at Earthland…" He slowly told them. They both kept quiet, urging him to continue just with their silence. The Lion began rubbing his hands a little as he struggled to find the right words. "We don't want it to get out, as it might get abused if it's commonly known, but when you die, you turn into a Spirit of the Celestial World." He slowly, lowly told them.

Lucy stared at him, trying to understand exactly what he was telling her. "So… You're all…?" She trailed off, not even able to say it out loud.

The Spirit nodded. "Yes. We, Spirits, are all dead." He confirmed for her. And now he'd begun, he could easily continue. "Just as you've been told, we're ranked by the amount of magic we have. The Zodiacs being the ones with most of all, and the oldest Spirits. Only difference is that we are ranked by the amount of magic we have when we die." He explained.

She blinked, then realized something. "So then… Mama and Papa are Spirits as well? I could actually get their keys and summon them?" She slowly asked him, her mind spinning with all the possibilities.

He nodded. "Yes, you could." He confirmed. "But it's unlikely you'll ever find them…" He then said apologetically. "Most Spirits change their appearance drastically from when they were alive - Taurus and Capricorn being good examples of this." He said, speaking carefully as it seemed he tried not to hurt her by talking about this. "Your father, not really having had a lot of magic in him, likely turned into a Nikora, so… We've got a lot of Nikoras."

She shook her head. "You don't have to worry, I understand why this happens. It'd complicate too many things if you could just go and summon your dead family left and right." She reassured him. All the while picturing her father as Plue.

He looked a little relieved to see she wasn't so touchy about it after all. "Exactly." He affirmed. "Not only that, though. Memories of your past life are also removed. So the dead won't seek out the ones they loved and once knew." He then said, his voice dropping an octave and growing more serious.

Grimmjow was the first to react then. "Oh, really now? The same thing happens at Earth, actually." He said, sarcasm dripping off his voice thickly. "Gotta have to wonder why it is she can remember everything, then." He said, nodding towards her.

Though she didn't agree with the way it was worded, she was curious to know if Loke knew the answer to that as well. Because… If both worlds were made so that the dead should have no recollection of their past life, how did she have hers? It made no sense. It should have been the one thing that'd been for sure about it all.

The Lion Spirit scratched his scalp, a somewhat meek look on his face. "That… I was the one who did that…" He trailed off slowly.

"You did what now?" She asked him, her eyes wide and her heart pumping away in her chest.

He sighed. "It is strictly forbidden, but as the leader of the Zodiac and the strongest Spirit - save for the Spirit King himself - I can reverse that…" He explained hesitantly.

She paused for a moment, hesitant. "Is that why you didn't attend my funeral…?" She asked him in a soft voice, a piece falling to its place in the grand puzzle in her head.

The Lion looked at her with wide eyes. "How did you- Did someone tell you back at the guild?" He asked, already making his assumptions as a scowl rose on his face.

She shook her head. His reaction was enough confirmation for her to know she was right. "No, I was there myself." She told him. "I… Died suddenly and couldn't immediately find peace like that, so… I wandered the guild ever since Team Natsu returned from that mission with my body and right up until my own funeral ended.." She told him slowly. "It's part of the reason I ended up in this place." She added.

Loke was absolutely flabbergasted, with the way he was frozen to the spot in the middle of the floor. "You actually- Damn…" He trailed off. "The others did say they could feel your presence, but…"

She smiled. Obviously he wouldn't believe them back then. "Looks like my death was different already then, huh?" She said with absolutely no humor in her voice. "Yes, I could see everyone, but they couldn't really see me. I heard everything." She said, her face somehow managing a strained smile.

It looked like water was building up in the Lion's eyes as he looked at that fake smile. "I'm so sorry, Lucy…" He trailed off.

She waved her hand in front of herself, brushing away his concerns. "Don't be, I brought it on myself." She reassured him. "Now… Why would you ever do something forbidden like that? Surely the Spirit King was furious at you." She said. And he really must've been, to have kept him from her funeral… It was a harsh punishment.

"He was." He confirmed, his gaze averted. "It was a selfish decision…" He said, then finally looked back up at her, reaching up to brush a curl behind her ear softly. "I couldn't stand the thought of losing you, so... I thought if you could just remember everything and if I gave you a little of my power, then I would find you in the Celestial World - that you might become a Leo Minor or something, but… Well, it didn't go as planned." He said, not even huffing or anything in laughter. That explained why she had felt him in her magic all this time…

She looked up at him with a slight frown, her brows creased. "Oh, Loke…" She muttered, pulling him in for another hug, through which he desperately clung to her. "I'm so sorry…" She told him.

With that said, he immediately pushed her back again, looking into her eyes intently as he lightly grasped her shoulders. "You have _nothing_ to apologize for Lucy. Nothing. If anything, I should apologize. It was all my fault - as your Spirit, I shouldn't have let you die like that." He told her, pausing a moment to make a point of what he'd said. "Don't you go and think any of this is your fault at all."

"But there was nothing you could have done, Loke. _I_ jumped in front of that sword. It wasn't like you asked me to." She told him adamantly. "This isn't your fault."

Grimmjow sighed, realizing where this could be going, probably. "None of this is any of your faults, okay? It's all on the bastard who killed you - that's who's at fault here." He jumped in, stopping their conversation before it turned into an argument.

Silently thanking him for not mentioning any names, she nodded. "Yes… You're right." She conceded. Had Aizen not decided to show up at their world and pull out a damn sword, then none of this would have happened at all.

Loke looked between the two of them. "Do you have any idea where that person might be?" He then asked them, having clearly caught the silent conversations going on.

Lucy sighed loudly as Grimmjow answered. "Yeah, we know who it is." He confirmed. He seemed about ready to say something else, but paused for a moment when he caught Lucy's look. "We'll make sure he gets a taste of his own medicine as soon as possible." He then vaguely answered.

"I see. That sounds good." The Lion Spirit agreed with a single nod. "Then I will speak to the Spirit King about your circumstances and about this rift between these two worlds. When I have, I will signal it to you through the key. Just summon me when you have the chance." He explained.

She shook her head, bringing the key up. "No. I need you to take your key with you back to Natsu. It isn't safe here - magic isn't common, I don't know what would happen if it's discovered. I'm sorry Loke, but I'll make sure to come by Earthland again really soon." She promised him, holding the golden object out to him.

He looked at her for a long moment, before finally taking the key. "I understand… I'll take this back to him." He agreed. They both knew that, in doing this, it meant it would also be impossible for him to just pop up out of nowhere like he used to do. He could only do it when the key was in close proximity.

She smiled lightly at him. "That's good.. Thank you and I'm sorry." She said, then smiled a little wider. "Say hi to everyone for me, okay?" She asked of him.

"Of course, I will." He promised her, before a glint of humor sparkled in his eyes. He gently held her hand in his and brought it to his lip, placing a kiss there - just as he always had done. "I will painfully await your return, Princess." He said, to which she could only giggle in both nostalgia and humor. Loke then turned to Grimmjow, still holding her hand. "Please, take care of her a little while yet, Grimmjow." He asked of the Arrancar.

A smirk grew behind the remnants of the mask, which only made it seem like he grinned even wider than he did. "Sure, sure. I will." He said as he nonchalantly stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back where he stood.

With a nod of thanks, Loke stepped back, sent Lucy a last smile, then popped out of existence as if he had never even been there to begin with.

For a moment, they both stood still and just watched the now vacant spot. That was, until Grimmjow finally couldn't hold the question in any longer. "Does he always act like that?" He asked, referring to the last lines the Lion left them with.

She smiled, still just staring at where Loke'd just been. "Yes, he does." And she wouldn't want it any differently.

* * *

 **Whoop! There we go. I know it's a little on the short side - especially compared to last weeks, but honestly… I thought it would have been half as long when I began, so I'm positively surprised. XD**

 **Well, hope you liked it either way!**

 **Got a bit of an information-overload again this chapter. But basically, the Spirit World is the same as Hueco Mundo/Soul Society, just with the difference that it isn't split up like that. So yeah. And Loke was the one, who made sure she'd kept her memories - who would have thought? Kinda sweet, but also kinda a dick-move. But he got his punishment.**

 **Oh, yes. I hope you guys caught the real reason behind Grimmjow's sour mood in the beginning of this one. Because it wasn't Aizen - he was just fuel to the fire, really. Tell me what you think!**

 **The next few chapters and basically right till the end will all be about the war. So I hope you'll like them, though they are a bit more action-packed and fast-paced than some of the earlier chapters.  
But well, I guess compared to other stories (at least the ones I've written) this one just is much more fast-paced, without many - if any - unnecessary scenes. **

**But thank you a billion times for reading, following, favoriting and of course, commenting! Keep doing what you do and I'll keep doing what I do, sound like a plan?**

 **~Line464d**


	23. Chapter 23 - The Beginning of the End

**Chapter 23 - The Beginning of the End**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Believe me, you guys would be the first I'd tell if I owned either of these two stories.**

* * *

"As I am sure you are all aware, the war that seemed so distant is finally here. In less than 12 hours, we will be moving out to take over Soul Society, just as it has been planned." Aizen declared to the ten Arrancar gathered around the long table.

They had all been gathered here shortly after the meeting between Lucy and the three leaders of this place had ended. Everything had been planned - how much she actually contributed she had on idea though - and it was going to be revealed to everyone gathered here now. Though the importance varied, each Espada had been given some role to play during all of this.

She'd given all her ideas to them even though she wasn't really sure which side she was on. She didn't know what else to do. Aizen would immediately notice it if she suddenly began holding back. So she gave them everything she could think of even if it didn't really benefit what she and Grimmjow were trying to do.

They wouldn't really be getting any chances to speak with Gin either, she was pretty sure. They would just have to jump into this blindfolded and feel their way through it. There was no time for them to could come up with a proper plan.

She bit her lip as she realized she'd been spacing out long enough and looked to the one who'd killed her, awaiting his next words, just as everyone else was.

Strangely enough, he'd decided she should be standing up by the three of them rather than down by Grimmjow as she usually did. What he had in mind by doing this, she had no clue.

The former Shinigami neatly folded his hands in is lap, looking out at everyone gathered as if to make sure they were all paying him enough attention. "The war will be fought out on three fronts." He told them, which earned him some surprised looks and a bit of muttering between the people in front of him.

Yes, this war was a bit peculiar in that regard. The same two sides would clash with one another three different places all at the same time.

"There will be fighting going on here, in Las Noches, in Soul Society - naturally - and on Earth, in that little town the human, Ichigo Kurosaki, resides in." He explained, silencing them as he spoke. "You will be spread out between these three worlds and fight in this war without any questions asked, is that clear?" He asked them all quite harshly.

This was one of the few times he openly stepped out of his good-cop routine and into his bad-cop one instead. The fact that it was such a rare sight only served to get the point across as clearly as it possibly could be; no matter what, he was the boss of this place.

When he'd gotten the affirmative confirmation he needed, he continued his explanation of how this would all play out. "As you know, we still have the human girl alive and in our possession, safely tucked away in a cell." He started out, getting a slight nod from Aaroniero, who was the one in charge of that part of Las Noches. "Her presence will draw the human boy here within the day. He likely already has noticed her absence and will soon figure out that she is here." He told them.

Impressively enough, though his attitude going into this meeting was about as high as the bottom of the sea, Grimmjow actually seemed somewhat interested in what Aizen was presenting. In all likelihood, he was searching for that opening in which they could take him down while he was too busy with and distracted by something else to see it coming. They both knew there would be very few off those, so that was why he was paying so close attention. Lucy could only wonder if there actually were any at all. But if nothing else, he'd know what they were up against, so it was as it should be.

"He will come running with a few of his human friends in an attempt to invade us, as the Captain Commander likely won't allow his Shinigami allies to go with him to begin with." Aizen continued on, telling them all exactly what the four of them had come up with less than an hour ago. "In the end, they will undoubtedly send backup from their own ranks, but they will be far behind the humans. Beware though, there will be both Lieutenants and Captains coming, not only foot-soldiers." He told them, his gaze sweeping over them quickly.

'Letting' them invade Hueco Mundo would make it seem like they made the first move, but in reality they weren't. They thought it'd be a surprise - Ichigo would at least - but it was all a scheme to lure them into a false sense of security.

"As that will leave Karakura town without much protection, they will also be sending the strongest of their soldiers there. Every remaining Captain and Lieutenant will be gathered here, because they know I've gotten something planned for that place." He said.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. Yeah, he was going to absorb 100 souls or more into that Hogyoku of his, so that he could get immeasurable amounts of power. So they were right to put extra protection on that place.

Looking at the Espada gathered, she got the distinct feeling she and Grimmjow weren't the only ones who knew of that man's plans. They did seem to be the only two who really cared though.

"Now, their placing almost all of their firepower in these two places means that Soul Society will basically be ripe for the taking for us." He said, a sort of smirk growing on his face. The really unsettling kind too. "I will be appointing each of you to a world and to some duties I want you to fulfill. I sincerely hope you will do so without questions." He told them. Though it came out so kindly, it was all really one big threat and they all knew it.

By now, she realized she was nothing more than a nice decoration up here with the three of them. A way to keep her away from Grimmjow so they wouldn't be able to communicate as much. Basically, Aizen knew, and he wasn't really moving any mountains to keep that from getting out.

Aizen continued on giving his orders to everyone. "One of you will take half of the army and invade Soul Society. The rest of you will be split between protecting Las Noches and going with myself, Tosen and Gin to Earth, fighting the decisive battle against the strongest Captains and Lieutenants" He said, looking out on all of them pointedly.

They all looked at him curiously. To see, who would be getting the 'honor' to fight alongside the three of them at Earth and, most importantly, who would be given the valuable task of leading the army to Soul Society.

"For the one going to Soul Society, we decided on someone we trust will complete their mission without any hitches, and who already is well-acquainted with the army; has their respect." He said, drastically decreasing the number of people here, who it could be. Of course, Aizen also turned and met that person's blank, green eyes. "Ulquiorra, we would like to ask you to do this for us." He told the bat.

Of course, it had to be him. If there was anything you could be sure of with him, then it would be that he wouldn't disappoint. And especially not with this, where his back-up was a bunch of people he'd been working with for months on end. He was the only one for the job - Yammy lacked the delicacy acquired for something like this, Gin had to be with Aizen and the rest of them didn't really know the army at all.

Ulquiorra nodded, his expression still as blank as ever - as if he hadn't just been given the most favorable position in this damn war. "I will see to it that Soul Society will be yours at the end of this war." He promised almost solemnly.

Aizen nodded as well, a faint smile on his lips. "I expect nothing less of you." He revealed to the Cuatro Espada. "I do not believe you will face much of a challenge there - the four gate-guardians in front of their headquarters, Seireitei, at most. It should be no problem for you and your men to succeed with these odds." He then said.

Aizen's prediction was that they would be sending all of their strongest fighters out; everyone they judged strong enough to be an asset. That would leave the healers - which generally didn't have a lot of fire-power going for them - and then a few of the lesser soldiers to protect the place. Ulquiorra was likely strong enough to conquer it by himself, but they wouldn't be taking any chances with this.

After the short pause, Aizen spoke up again. "Half of the remaining army will be staying here while the other half will be going with us to Earth." He explained. "We have a secret advantage in our numbers, as the Shinigami do not expect out army to be as big as it is. Splitting it up like this will remove all suspicions of us taking over their own base." He continued to reason with them.

Now, the fact that he knew they expected about half of what they really were in terms of numbers was one of the things she knew she'd had an effect on. Whether it was because she pushed for them to increase or just because of her little visit to Earth, she had no clue. But she knew she did that.

The same counted for the knowledge that they would send reinforcements to Earth - that was, after all, what Urahara asked them for. So she knew she had helped with a few things - even if she wasn't sure that was even to Grimmjow's and hers advantage at all.

"Now, we know the Captain and their Lieutenants will be split between protecting Earth and attacking Las Noches. I will also split our forces between these two places. I will not make the same mistake as they will and leave our own base defenseless, so therefore I will be bringing only three of you with me to Earth." He told them, to which a few brows were raised.

Indeed, it wasn't many out of the nine remaining. But if you counted the three former Shinigami as well, then it even out entirely.

"Stark, Barragan and Harribel, I would like for the three of you to accompany us to Earth and fight alongside us." He said.

That was more than enough for them to could handle themselves. Those three were his strongest Espada - going by the numbers at least. Excluding Yammy, their secret trump card, that was.

Stark groaned very audibly. "Can't I just be on guard-duty or something? That's such a bother…" He asked, almost begged, Aizen. Sometimes she had to wonder how a person like that could be their second strongest.

Aizen looked to him, his irritation with his remark somehow suppressed entirely. "I am afraid your talents are required elsewhere, my Primera Espada. Please do bear over with us this time around." He said, his friendly wording hiding his anger from the less sharp individuals here. To her, it was obvious though. Maybe because she knew someone like Mira so well. "I am sure you all have taken your time and gathered at least some basic knowledge about the Captains of Soul Society?" He asked.

All three nodded. She knew not everyone here had done their research - Grimmjow being one of these. But, well, those few would just have to cross that bridge when they came to it. Somehow.

Aizen nodded as well, seemingly somewhat happy to see at least those three hadn't thrown caution to the wind entirely. "Good. I expect that Toshiro Hitsugaya will remain at Earth with his Lieutenant instead of coming here. Sui-feng and her Lieutenant will likely be there and as will Shunsui Kyoraku. With him naturally comes Jushiro Ukitake. As they know we will be there, Sajin Komamura will also be there, waiting for Tosen. Finally, the Captain Commander will be there also. All of them with their Lieutenants, of course." He finished off.

She hardly knew anything about these people, so she had let the other three do all the predicting of that. She only knew a little about them - like that Sui-feng was an assassin, Shunsui was a bit of a lazy drunk and that Ukitake was kind of sickly. And of course about their abilities as well. Enough for her to could face them properly at least.

"I ask that you leave the Captain Commander to me. However, other than that, I would like to hear your thoughts on which you deem most appropriate to be your opponents." Aizen told the three, giving them the choice. However in confining them to Earth, he'd almost already made the decision for them. Which meant this was just made to seem like they had a choice at all.

Harribel was the first to speak up. "I wish for you to let my Fracción and I handle Toshiro Hitsugaya and his Lieutenant." She told them. Hitsugaya, huh? That was a rather strange choice for her…

Aizen also reacted on it. "Toshiro Hitsugaya? I would say our water-based abilities are in no advantage against his ice. Do you have something special in mind for him?" He asked. From the looks of things, this was what he had expected would happen.

Lucy also looked to the blonde Espada, quite curious to hear her thoughts. "Yes. I am sure I can use this against him. Once he gets too confident about his advantage, he will be no problem." She reassured the leader of this group.

If anyone, she would certainly be one who had the tact and skill to pull something like that off. Though as someone who was somewhat of a pacifist, Lucy could only wonder exactly how Harribel was going to be dealing with him. And would she actually go so far as to kill the young Captain if she got the chance? Or was choosing him the only way she could find that would avoid that?

Aizen nodded, a satisfied smile on his lips. "Good, I trust you to take care of him, then." He easily agreed. "What about you two?" He asked, his gaze alternating between Stark and Barragan.

The former king of Hueco was the one to speak up next. "I will be taking care of the little assassin, Sui-feng." He announced loudly, so that absolutely no one would miss it. "Her stigmata-techniques will prove ineffective against me with my ability to alter time. And, as one of my own Fracción is much like her, the style of battle will not be foreign to me." He argued.

Aizen nodded again, another thing going as predicted. "Indeed, that is a solid reasoning. Your request is granted." He said, once again reminding the former king who was in charge in this place. He then turned to the last remaining person who needed to choose. "Then that leaves Komamura and the Shunsui-Ukitake combo. I am in no doubt Komamura will ignore everything and anything in order to face Tosen, so that really only leaves you with those two." He said, to which he got a groan from the very un-motivated Espada. "I am sure you will fare well against them, Stark. Especially Shunsui is quite like you." He said, to which he was only awarded a single grunt of acceptance. He quickly continued on. "Good, I am glad to have your cooperation with this." He said, looking out at all three of them.

Funny how the laziest guy here ended up with the hardest task of facing two Captains at once just because he was too lazy to speak up in time. But, well, he wasn't Primera for nothing.

Aizen the turned to the remaining six Espada. "The rest of you will remain here and protect Las Noches against Ichigo Kurosaki and whatever company he brings." He told them clearly.

Grimmjow's annoyed gaze met hers. She knew he wasn't satisfied with this. They would be nowhere near Aizen, who was their real target, and they wouldn't even be in the midst of the bigger of the battles. Likely the only upside to their positions, in his eyes, was that he'd be getting a chance to fight the human again and finally end their fight.

She knew that was what he thought and she agreed with it, generally. But there wasn't really a lot she could do - this was how Aizen wanted it to be, so this was how it was going to be.

She gave him a discreet shrug, then returned her attention to Aizen again. "Each of you will be given an area, which you are to defend against our attackers." He explained, pausing to make sure each of them were following the conversation. "Yammy, you are to defend the eastern area outside Las Noches, Szayelaporro, I ask that you take the west, Nnoitora, I would like you to take the north and Grimmjow and Lucy, you two will be in charge of the south. Aaroniero and Zommeri, you will be tasked with protecting the inside of Las Noches - the east and west respectively." He quickly explained.

She nodded lightly to herself. They had to be in Hueco, but at least she'd made sure their position would be outside, as far away from Nnoitora as possible and as close to Orihime as possible as well. They wouldn't be able to miss Ichigo this way, at least. It was far away from this room, though, where everyone was likely going to take off from.

From the looks of it Grimmjow also seemed to acknowledge she had at least tried to make it as advantageous for them as possible with what she had to work with.

"Now, none of you are to leave your positions for any reason, no matter what it is." He told them sharply. They all knew that rule would be broken at some point in the duration of this but it would not be immediately, at least. "Stay sharp and kill any that step into your area. I will hear nothing of mercy from any of you." He said, his eyes landing on her as he finished.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She knew she could be soft, but even she wouldn't show an enemy any mercy. She was still a Hollow, even if she also was a Spirit. There was literally more reason to worry about Harribel - Lucy'd be having Grimmjow with her all the time. And he was generally not seen as particularly merciful.

Aizen turned away from her and to Szayel instead when he was sure all of them had heard what he had to say. "I trust you have brought everything you were asked to?" He asked the mad scientist.

Szayel nodded, then pushed his glasses up with a proud smirk. "Naturally." He confirmed. Nothing was going to prevent him from taking every chance to brag about his babies. After all, he had been asked to bring a pair of his creations.

The former Shinigami nodded, a faint smile on his lips. It hadn't really left, honestly. "That's good, thank you." He replied then looked to the other five. I am sure you all have heard of Szayelaporro's invention, the Rokureichi, have you not?" He asked, to which he got some nods. It was the only thing that person ever really talked about. "The spirit-recording bugs; a simple, yet powerful invention. You simply give it the command and it will tell you everything there is to know about your opponent. And, if given the command, it can completely nullify a person's reiatsu within a radius of one kilometer from Las Noches." He explained, to which Szayel nodded.

It didn't seem to have gotten any upgrades since they had been introduced to her, but it wasn't like they needed it anyway. These things were already powerful enough as they were. It was pretty crazy, actually.

"I want each of you to carry one on you at all times and use it as you see fit. Deploying them is simply through vocal commands. If you have any questions about them I am sure Szayelaporro wouldn't mind answering them." He told them, to which the creator nodded eagerly.

Even though half of the people present here wouldn't even be in Hueco, the small bugs would still be effective in gathering information. And it was honestly and invaluable tool to have on hand like that.

While Szayel handed out the bugs, Aizen continued right on ahead. "As for the Captains I predict will be invading us alongside the humans… First off, they will send Byakuya Kuchiki for the simple reason that his Lieutenant and his sister are both close friends of the human's and will undoubtedly come to his rescue. Then I imagine Kenpachi Zaraki, one of the most brutal fighters they have, will also be part of the back-up. His lack of finesse simply would not go very well at Earth. Then they will also be sending Retsu Unohana, their most formidable healer. However, if she lets herself go, she will be just as brutal as Zaraki so do not underestimate her. Finally, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Shinigami's mad scientist, will also be coming here. Though likely only to find the next test-subjects he might experiment on." He explained.

All of them were honestly fearsome Captains in their own right, so they'd definitely also be having their hands full even if it was only four Captains and a human. There were a few strong Lieutenants among them as well, after all.

"Now, when the human and his friends invade us, there is a certain way things are going to proceed." Aizen announced, once again getting everyone's attention from the creations they'd received. "About a half an hour after they arrive, backup from Soul Society will also come. 10 minutes before then, I want you, Ulquiorra, to take the army and go to Soul Society yourself. I will, of course, help you with the Garganta. You will arrive in the Rukongai, a little walk away from Seireitei. By the time you get everyone through and lead them to Seireitei, it will already be vacated of their strongest soldiers." He explained, from which he got a nod from the bat.

Out in the Rukongai, they wouldn't be spotted, as it was too far away and all the Shinigami would be too busy getting ready to go to Earth and Hueco themselves to really notice their presences. Honestly, it was scary how detailed Aizen had planned this out. It easily sent a shiver down her spine.

"At this time, I want you; Barragan, Stark, Harribel and Tosen to go to Earth. Alongside you will be two illusions of myself and Gin, which will allow for us to make a surprise attack later on. At first, I expect Genryusai will box the three of us in with his flames, alas our cover will not be blown until our real selves appear." He explained, gesturing to himself, Tosen and Gin. "The two of us will appear and take him by surprise. That should be enough for us to could take him down for some time." He then finished off.

It would be impossible to plan any more and expect it to go that way, so from there, they would just have to improvise in whatever situations they'd be caught up in. But that was obvious enough to not need to be mentioned out loud.

Aizen's gaze swept across everyone gathered again. "Is anyone uncertain about what they are supposed to do in this war?" He asked hem clearly. When no one said anything, he took a light breath, nodded and then continued his monologue. "Then there are a few things I want some of you to take care of before everything begins." He added.

Lucy glance up at him, slightly surprised by this - they hadn't talked about any of this back there, so this was all him. Which kind of worried her and impressed her at the same time.

"Ulquiorra, you will, of course, be in charge of letting the men know of the situation and what their roles are. Additionally, I also leave it up to you to decide how the army will be split." He told the emotionless Espada, who simply nodded at the order.

She blinked a few times. She hadn't even thought of how all of them would learn of all this. It always just happened somehow. But of course someone had to do it and Ulquiorra was obviously a perfect choice for it. Especially since he'd be leading half of them to the enemy's base and because they all likely had respect for him already.

With that confirmed as well, Aizen turned to Nnoitora. "During and after all of this, it is imperative that our stock on Hollows to eat is big enough. Can I leave that to you, Nnoitora?" He asked the spoon-wannabe.

The creep glanced from her to Grimmjow with a cocky smirk before replying. "Sure, I'd love to do that." He told the former Shinigami, clearly proud about the fact that he had been given that task rather than the two of them. She almost wanted to tell him it was simply Aizen's ploy to keep the both of them where he could see them.

With a knowing nod to the creepy Espada, Aizen then turned to the mad scientist of the group. "Szayelaporro, I would like to ask you to take a quick look at the inventions you have put up around Las Noches. Simply to be completely sure they are all entirely operational. Then I also request you once again show me how I use your illusion-device properly."

The thought of anything not working as it should or his making a mistake because he didn't know the devices well enough was intolerable. As a matter of fact, mistakes of any kind were intolerable.

Szayel nodded with a proud grin. "Of course, that'll be done. Though I know each and every one of them are perfectly operational." He told them with certainty.

Aizen smiled a little and nodded. "Of course they are." He replied, sounding slightly amused at the scientist's self-confidence. "However there is no harm in double-checking at a time like this." He added, easily proving he would not budge on this, no matter how many complaints he may get.

Once again, Szayel nodded, though now without the cocky smirk. Those things were his babies, which he had worked on till perfection. Aizen's insinuation that they were less than that obviously didn't sit right anywhere with him. But at the same time, he couldn't really say anything more in his position.

Seeing they'd reached an agreement, Aizen moved on. "Finally, Aaroniero, please do check up on the human girl. She is key in this war - her death would complicate things more than necessary." He asked of the Noveno Espada.

To think it was just a few hours ago that Orihime had arrived here and sent down to that cell. It felt like something that was days away after everything. If not weeks. So much had just happened it was hard to wrap her head around it all…

Aaroniero agreed with one of his awkward nods. "It shall be done." He confirmed.

Aizen leaned back in his chair, his fingers intertwining in his lap. "Good." He first said, before quickly continuing. "I will signal you when Ichigo arrives, though it shouldn't be necessary. Stay sharp from now and until we see the end of this." He told them pointedly, making eye-contact with each and every person to be sure they understood. "You are dismissed."

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 **Theeeere we go. Lil' short, but jesus if it didn't get much longer than I expected it to. Guess Aizen just had a lot to say, huh? Should've called this chapter 'Aizen's monologue' instead, 'cause it's basically what it is.**

 **Well, it's different as there is not so much action in this, but a lot of dialogue. I hope it wasn't boring for any of you and that you still liked it at least somewhat. It is what it is though.**

 **Now, next chapter, shit hits the fan. Aka the war will start. Soooo. Yeah. Look forward to it?**

 **Thank you to everyone who had read, followed favorited and commented! Please keep on keeping on till the end of it all. Mesa's got somethin' veeeery special planned for the end of it. That you'll either love or hate. We'll see.**

 **~Line464d**


	24. Chapter 24 - Invasion

**Chapter 24 - Invasion**

 **As you guys can prooooobably surmise from the chapter's title, the war'll truly be starting now, in this chapter :3**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Yeah… No. I don't own neither Bleach nor Fairy Tail. Yet, that is~**

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"So when are we even going to get the chance to strike the bastard down - while he's fighting that Captain Commander of the Shinigami's or what?" Grimmjow asked out loud.

Following the end of the meeting, they had gone back to their wing and caught up with some well-deserved rest. They'd need it for what was ahead of them.

Because of that, talking about tactics and strategy had been saved for now, where they were already sitting in wait for what was to come, huddled together on the southern end of Las Noches' roof.

She sighed lightly, letting her head drop to his shoulder. Though she'd gotten some rest already, it only seemed to have made her even more tired. "I don't think that's a good idea - he'll be on high alert then. Attacking the Captain Commander like that gets you a lot of unwanted attention." She argued. He'd be ready for the potential enemies creeping up from behind him then.

Grimmjow groaned and threw his head back, glaring up at the starless night. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" He asked her almost angrily.

It was a good question. "I guess… Maybe when he's killed that Captain Commander?" She suggested, but quickly shook her head before he could say anything. "No, we would need to somehow keep track of the battle from here and that's impossible." She denied the idea. Without having him notice, it would be impossible anyway. A shame, since the victory of killing the Captain Commander may have made Aizen relax enough for them to get a good shot at him.

Grimmjow groaned loudly again, but said nothing. Not that that was necessary for her to know what he felt

It was difficult with that bastard he was always so guarded. Or had guards who could and would take care of that aspect for him. She couldn't remember ever meeting a person who was so constantly aware of their surroundings the way he was. There never seemed to be any opening with him.

"Then how about when he's sent everyone out and he and Gin are just sitting ducks in the meeting room?" Grimmjow suggested after a while, obviously getting a little desperate to find a time where they could carry this out.

She sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes and just letting her senses do the work for her - they'd catch things way before her eyes would anyway. "No, that won't work. He'll have a lot of guards with him then, maybe even Aaroniero or Zommeri as well." She reminded him.

"Yeah." He relented slowly, though clearly not done with the suggestion. "But we'll be having Gin there too and the others are just small-fly anyway." He shot back.

"Careful, Grim. They may be stronger than you think." She warned him. She played that deception well, as people often only measured her by her amount of reiatsu, not taking any note of the magic even if they knew it was there. It was her little ace up the sleeve.

She could feel his gaze on her. "Kitten, please. They're nothing. They're littered everywhere in this place - I know exactly how weak they all are." He argued.

Well, there was absolutely no reason to discuss this with him; he wouldn't budge no matter what she said. "Whatever. It's bad timing either way. It gives us no time to coordinate with Gin either and maybe he's already gotten something planned." She said.

She heard him hit the roof with his fist, having nothing else he could do. She understood - not being able to get a plan down because of how Aizen was and because of the big mystery Gin was, wasn't fun. Or good.

But if she knew Gin like she thought she did, he would go into this without a plan. He had followed Aizen around for centuries, just to get that one shot at getting him down - and he would really only get one shot. So he wasn't without a plan of some sort in this.

She sighed, already knowing how Grimmjow was going to take what she was going to say next. "I hate to say this, but we will have to trust Gin has devised a plan." She curtly told him, still with her head on his shoulder as if what she'd said just now wasn't something that went against everything the Espada stood for.

Sure enough, he also growled under his breath. "What, so you just want to sit here and blindly trust that fucking snake?! I though we went over this shit already." He said, tensing up but never breaking the physical connection they had.

"As did I." She shot back, opening her eyes and tilting her head back far enough to could look at him. "I thought I told you I didn't trust him with anything but this." She reminded him, from which deep creases were now etched into his forehead. "He has a plan and he'll be showing us exactly what he wants us to do when he wants us to do it. We won't be able to miss it." She reasoned. Gin was that kind of person.

A deep exhale escaped Grimmjow. "I don't like this." He told her, gazing out at the empty desert ahead of them. "I don't like the thought of giving him so much trust and so much power." He elaborated, his sky-blue eyes finally meeting hers. "Are we really just going to let him do all this shit? What if he fucks us over?" He asked.

A frown tugged at her lips at the thought of that happening. "I don't know, but we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it. I don't see that we have any other choice as it is now." She slowly told him, her voice kept low. Not that she thought anyone had the guts or skills to spy on them at a time like this.

"Or." He said, drawing her attention back up to his face again. "We could just do it the way we always planned - just the two of us." He suggested.

She couldn't help smiling lightly at the suggestion. "While I would love to do that, I know we can't do this alone." She said, genuinely sad they couldn't just do it like that- it was way easier. "Gin knows so many things we don't and that information will be invaluable in taking him down. We can't even come up with a time that it'll be appropriate for us to attack, after all." She reminded him; the cherry on top of the cake.

He growled, more so angry with himself than anything else, if she had to guess. Angry that they couldn't come up with anything by themselves and angry that they even needed help in the first place.

She got it; she felt the same way. She wasn't exactly comfortable with just leaving it all to someone else like that and having absolutely no say in what was to be done. Especially not with a man like that. And neither did the fact that she had proved time and time again she was pretty solidly good in the field of strategy help any.

But there just wasn't anything they could do about it. Even if they had enough time to spare, Gin didn't. He was likely either assisting Ulquiorra with the army or planning the last things out and making the final reparations for the war. He just didn't have the time to talk to them, so it had to be like this.

She really just hoped they could get through this without too many bumps. She knew it would be difficult as hell, but that was the exact reason they didn't need any trees falling and blocking the path they were going to take to get to their end-goal.

She was honestly ready for a break. A break form this tension and always having to doubt all the people around you all the time. She was really just glad she had Grimmjow with her throughout this.

What would've even happened to her if she didn't have him here? If she'd even managed to survive Hueco in the first place and gotten all the way here, she probably would have ended up as one of Aizen's brainwashed pawns - just like Loly and Menoly. Without ever knowing who he really was. Well, that was only _if_ she would've even gotten that far. Which seemed unrealistic.

She was just glad - no, that didn't quite do it justice… Ecstatic, grateful, appreciative, happy, overjoyed, relieved, thankful… None of these words could ever hope to describe how infinitely glad she was to have him at her side throughout it all. As cliché as it sounded, he was her pillar. And everything she had left at this point.

There was only him.

She couldn't possibly imagine a life - or maybe 'afterlife' was more appropriate - in which he wasn't there with her. She wouldn't be able to do anything without him.

Which in itself was funny, because even when she was back in Fairy Tail, his was the kind of personality she would do her utmost to say away from. This crass, violent, foul and at times downright evil personality, which's arrogance and ego drove it to only think of their own selfish goals.

But here she was, with a person just like that, who had all of those qualities. And so many more. He could be as supportive as anyone from Fairy Tail - even more so at times - and as honorable and loyal as the idea soldier and, though a little backwards with it, he could be as kind as the night was long here in Hueco. He was always blunt and straight to the point, but that was what she loved about him. He always told the truth, even if it was a truth you wouldn't want to hear. He stepped back let her have a go at it first instead of immediately jumping in and protecting her form any and all harm. He valued her opinions as highly as he did his own, always, and didn't shy away if he knew she was wrong about something.

No matter which part about him - good as well as bad - she wouldn't be without a single one of them. She wanted it all in the full package that was Grimmjow.

Even if he was as impatient as a five-year-old child sometimes. "Goddammit this fucking shit is boring as hell. If something doesn't start happening soon, I'll go straight to that motherfucking human's home myself and fuck some shit up." He growled, the sound of his rumbling voice reaching her ear and making her smile at the comfort it brought.

She gently patted his thigh a pair of times, smiling widely even with her eyes closed. "Patience, Grim. Patience." She lightly berated him.

That said, it was true there'd been awfully silent for a long time now. Ichigo and whoever he'd bring would be here at any moment now, then.

The Arrancar, whose shoulder she was still using as a pillow, groaned for the thousandth time, throwing his head back as he shifted a little under her. "So you fucking say bu-"

He was cut off when the familiar and yet unfamiliar sensation of Ichigo's reiatsu reached them along with two unfamiliar presences. Shortly after, they felt Aizen's reiatsu spike to a point where no one would miss it.

It had begun.

They exchanged gazes. She watched as a smirk grew on his face and a mischievous look sparked in his eyes. He wasn't going to wait, was he?

As she predicted, he turned around and was about to storm towards Ichigo, who'd so stupidly decided to split up with the two friends he'd brought with him. She sighed in her silent mind. Did they really have to be the first ones to break that rule of Aizen's?

She quickly reached oot and got a hold of the hem of his shirt before he could get too far. "Just wait another 15 minutes, will you?" She asked of him. He honestly was just like a damn child sometimes.

He turned and looked at her blankly for a moment as he seemed to consider the idea. After that moment had passed, his shoulders sagged and he breathed out a sigh. "Fine. But not any more than that." He grunted and let himself plop down again.

The sound that came just as he did that was so absolutely deafening it couldn't possibly be connected whatsoever. Simultaneously, their heads flew to the right, were they saw a last flash of a green Gran Rey Cero and then the rapidly crumbling tower in which it ended.

She could easily feel who the Cero belonged to; it was Ulquiorra's. Looked like that person, whoever they were, had been so unfortunate to step into the door the army had gathered in. The person was only barely alive right now - before long, the last of it would ebb out of him. Ulquiorra certainly didn't go easy on that guy. If everything went at this speed, then the war would be over before they knew it.

She felt out the two remaining humans, quickly realizing that she could recognize none of them at all. Then that meant the person over there was…

Her eyes widened gradually as realization dawned on her. "Ichigo..." She slowly mumbled to herself, her gaze focused on the tower which surprisingly stayed standing even after such a hit and the weak flicker of life that was hidden within it.

She barely even heard Grimmjow's confused 'what' as she was already off, sonidoing to appear by the battered human's side in the tower. A fraction of a second later, the other Arrancar was by her side, frozen as she was at the sight before her.

Across from the hole in the wall lay the completely lifeless form of Ichigo Kurosaki. He was unconscious and only barely within an inch of his life, crimson blood seeping from his mouth and other injuries on his body. Wounds that were no doubt caused by his crash with the walls. But most notably from the hole which had appeared just underneath his throat.

If it hadn't been because of all the crimson red oozing out of it in steady streams, they would have likely been to see right through it. Almost as if it was a Hollow-hole.

Grimmjow growled under his breath. "Damn that bat, of course he'd do that shit." He commented to himself. She knew it was about that hole - Ulquiorra's trademark, he'd told her.

But she didn't care the least bit about all that right now. She hurried down on her knees next to the human and quickly lit her hands up with her reiatsu - just as Rangiku had taught her to do it just a few days ago.

Dammit! She could feel a few of his internal systems already beginning to shut down. If she didn't act fast with this, he wouldn't survive the unfortunate meeting with Ulquiorra. She gritted her teeth as she forced out even more reiatsu. First off, she'd need to stop that hole from bleeding any more, at least.

"What the hell are you doing, Kitten?" Grimmjow asked, easily breaking through her concentration with that loud voice of his.

She didn't look up at him as she replied just as aggressively. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" She hissed at him - it should be fairly obvious. And it was goddamn difficult to do too.

She could faintly see him crossing his arms in her peripheral. "It looks like you're healing that fucking carrot." He stated, though he knew her well enough to know she knew that he knew exactly what she was doing as soon as her hands began radiating with the reiatsu.

Still, she didn't look up at him. "I am." She confirmed with a barely restrained snarl. She wasn't actually all that annoyed with him, he was just the decoy she could pour it all over.

No, she was annoyed with herself. It looked like her reiatsu was a little too impure to heal something like this, no matter how hard she tried. They'd need to get someone with better abilities to heal than she did - and she knew exactly who that person had to be.

Finally, she actually turned to him. He didn't look even close to as offended as he had sounded just now. "I need you to go get Orihime as quickly as you can." She basically ordered him. The following raised brow did nothing to calm her shortening fuse. "I can only barely keep him alive, Grim. We need her if we want him to wake up again." She told him.

It didn't seem to do anything but make him raised his brow even higher up on his forehead. "And why the fuck should I care whether that carrot lives or dies?" He asked her harshly, once again reminding her what was the norm in this world regarding others.

She gave him a glare, then sighed and turned her attention back to Ichigo. "If you want to fight him to pass the time, he'll have to be alive. So go get her." She told him, knowing he'd at least do it to combat the boredom.

She heard him growl behind her and then he was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief - at least now she could focus on keeping this guy live without any distractions.

The situation for this guy was really dire - Grimmjow honestly couldn't be fast enough about bringing Orihime here. She feared Ichigo would slip out of their reach before too long.

She knew time seemed to crawl forward extremely slowly for her, but even so it felt like an eternity had gone and passed before the Espada returned, Orihime thrown over his shoulder like some sack of potatoes.

"Sorry about the wait, Kitten, but there were a pair of flies who'd decided to make this shit more difficult than it needed to be." He growled in irritation. Right, of course Aaroniero would station a few guards there to at least try to protect the girl. Per Aizen's orders, of course.

She nodded, her eyes still not leaving the still human before her. "That's okay, you're still in time." She reassured him. Only barely though. But that was enough.

"In time for what?" Orihime asked from where she was hanging so elegantly. "A-and would you put me down already?!" She then basically screamed at the Espada, who was leagues above her in strength. Despite being timid, she was really brave, huh?

Lucy looked briefly at the Espada and gave him a nod, after which he then put the girl down, then turned back to what she was doing. The blonde only addressed the ginger girl after she'd had the chance to gasp at the sight in front of her. "I need you to help me with this, Orihime." She told the young girl.

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times unable to say anything given the situation presented to her. Which, under normal circumstances, was to be expected from her.

However, in this particular situation, that sort of hesitation was wasting precious time they didn't have right now.

"Orihime." Lucy said the girl's name harshly, meeting her eyes firmly. "I understand you can't trust me right now - that's okay. But if you don't get your little ass down here and heal Ichigo immediately, he will die within a minute." She warned the girl, knowing that had been going through the girl's head just now.

She watched as shock passed over orange-haired girl's face and transformed into determination. She gave the blonde a nod, which was filled to the brim with the same determination. "Y-yes!" She stammered, seemingly not even able to be rid of that timid side to herself, even when she was like this.

She fell to her knees on the other side of Ichigo and immediately began healing the love of her life. Lucy didn't even have to search with her own reiatsu to see whether Orihime's abilities would save the guy; she could see the wounds closing up perfectly with her naked eyes.

She got up from the ground carefully, making sure not to draw the girl's attention from what she was doing. Not that she was even sure she could do such a thing, judging from the hard look in the girl's otherwise soft eyes.

The blonde drew back, falling into place next to Grimmjow. There was nothing she could do to help that girl right now, other than making sure nothing would disturb her. So she decided it was better for her to give these two some space. For the sake of the romance, it was definitely better to let Orihime be the first thing he'd see when he woke up again.

She watched with a light smile at the two, bathed in the mesmerizing golden light of the girl's reiatsu. Rangiku was right. She and Orihime really were similar in many ways..

Always ending up as the damsel in distress eve if that wasn't ever the intent. Always with the one they love so dearly racing to rescue them, sometimes even being a little too protective. Always wishing there was something they could do to help that one person and then ignoring all else when they found it. Only it seemed Orihime, though much more timid, held so much more power than Lucy ever did.

With her Spirits, Lucy had brought a lot of variety. But she had always been the jack of all trades; master of none, trying to be something she wasn't. Orihime though, she realize she was not the type for combat, so she poured all her energy into healing and her barriers, the two things she was absolutely exceptional at. In that regard, they were different.

Though it seemed Lucy had actually pushed through with the things she was actually not all that good at; combat. Thanks to the right teacher and a much more forceful situation, no doubt. And sheer stubbornness on her part.

That girl was incredibly though. She was basically bringing Ichigo back from the dead over there as if that was commonplace for her to do. She really had outstanding talents, which also still held a lot of potential. And she'd honestly taken her whole kidnapping pretty well also. She was strong, definitely.

Both Lucy and Grimmjow watched silently and half in awe as the hole in the human's neck closed all the way up, leaving only a spot of that crimson blood in its wake, which then also disappeared as if the injury had never even been there in the first place. Truly many times more powerful than high-speed regeneration. Almost like turning back time; rejecting what had happened. It was unique, unlike anything Lucy'd ever heard of before, but with so incredibly much potential stored in it.

The blonde shook her head incredulously as the guy's chest began heaving up and down again, fighting to get the air, which it had been deprived of for too long, back into the lungs again. Moments later, his eyes slowly opened to meet Orihime's.

The polite things to do had probably been to look away and let the two lovebirds have their moment for themselves, but Lucy couldn't get herself to look away even if she wanted to. It was like a distant dream playing out right in front of her.

She could easily imagine exactly what was going through Orihime's mind right now, as she undoubtedly was smiling softly down at that man.

Happiness because she had been able to help the man so precious to her and be with him again. Pride because she wasn't the damsel in distress this time around. Worry because of his wellbeing, though she knew he'd survive this as well.

Most importantly though… Relief. Relief because he did in fact survive this and would be okay. Relief because he had not saved her again, but that she had saved him for once. Relief because she was finally back with him after all the terrible, scary things she had endured here and because she could finally go back home again.

Oh, yes. Even though the girl's back was to her, Lucy could easily read her every emotion, which made the girl's shoulders tremble ever so lightly in front of them. She didn't have to see them to know those two, big, brown eyes were watering all up at the moment as well.

And, clearly, the both of them had completely forgotten where the hell they were and who were watching. All caught up in their own, little world.

Ichigo was looking right up into Orihime's eyes, where they had never strayed from ever since opening. "In… Oue…" He whispered, his voice still a little hoarse from the damage he'd received.

The girl shook her head, making some of her long hair loosen itself form its place behind her ear, hanging down like a veil between them and the two Arrancar." Don't move yet, Ichigo. I-I'm almost done." She told the guy with a trembling voice.

Accepting her plea, Ichigo remained completely still as the girl finished up healing him. His gaze didn't even leave her face, even for a moment either. Whether that was a conscious choice or not was debatable.

Lucy saw Grimmjow shift ad look back the way Ichigo had come from. She followed his gaze, then felt what had probably caused the swap of attention. It looked like Ulquiorra was about to leave, even without checking that Ichigo was even dead. Though, with a shot like that, only someone like Orihime would be able to redeem it. Would be nice to have that kind of confidence, though. Or maybe he just didn't care either way?

Her attention was drawn back to the two humans in front of them when Orihime spoke again. "There… I'm all done." She softly said. Had there been much noise outside, they would have probably missed it entirely.

Ichigo sat up a little straighter, his eyes still on the girl before him. Adorable, little, lovesick puppy, that one. "It's not that I'm not happy you're here, Inoue, but… How?" He slowly asked, the last of the hoarseness clearing with every word spoken.

His words seemed to bring the girl back to reality, as her shoulders tensed all up again. "Y-yeah… I was in a cell.. U-until just now…" The girl admitted, then slowly turned to look at the two Arrancar. Their presence here right now was pretty self-explanatory, after all.

Of course, the boy followed her line of sight and landed on the two. He immediately sprang up on his still slightly unsteady feet, struggling to keep his balance with that oversized sword of his. His eyes conveyed his threat just fine though, even if his body didn't.

Lucy raised her hands to her shoulders and showed him her bare palms. "Calm down. If we wanted you to die, we wouldn't have brought her here. So there's no reason for that look." She told him. Such feelings of gratitude from him, it honestly just warmed her heart.

Grimmjow looked down at her with what had to be a smirk. "I want him to die." He bluntly stated.

She didn't even look up at him as she replied. "Shut up." She snarled, not missing a beat. Much more reaction she wouldn't grace that guy with. Fucking idiot wasn't helping shit

Ichigo's eyes flew between the two as he got up into a much more threatening posture, seemingly having gotten control of his body again. "Why would you do this…?" He asked them slowly, entirely on guard and watching their every move. In his eyes, they were both enemies after all. Which was both true and false at the same time.

Grimmjow was the first to reply. "So I could kill you with my own, two hands." He answered with his familiar, bloodthirsty grin on his face. "Our battle never ended." He elaborated, in case he hadn't caught that that was the reason for it all.

Lucy rolled her eyes as Ichigo now took a firm grip on his zanpakuto, narrowing his eyes at the Espada. Oh lord. How did she ever come to care for such an idiot?

She didn't hesitate immediately stomp on his feet, sending him a pointed glare, before giving the two her own two cents, before Orihime would throw a fit. "While we are not exactly on your side, we aren't against you either." She vaguely explained, seeing no reason to elaborate any further on that. He glanced at Orihime shortly, then continued. "Besides, a friend of mine would have been very sad if you died just like that." She added, knowing Ichigo wouldn't understand any of that, but that Orihime would.

Right as she was, Orihime's doe-like eyes looked to the blonde and widened in shock and realization. Said blonde looked back at her and nodded just lightly, confirming that what she was thinking was correct.

The two clueless men with them caught absolutely none of it though, which only seemed to get Grimmjow impatient. "Can you save that disgusting mush for after this fight, Kitten?" He asked her, his gaze strictly on Ichigo, who was raising his blade at the obvious invitation.

Orihime quickly stepped between them with her arms spread out wide in front of the other human. "No. I only just healed him. He can't fight now." She told the Espada firmly, her gaze steady though her words weren't quite.

Ichigo put a hand on her head reassuringly, though he didn't look away from Grimmjow as he spoke either. "Don't worry about me, Inoue. Thanks to you I'm just fine now." He promised her, clearly already having made up his mind.

Orihime looked up at him with big, worried eyes. "But, Ichigo-"

Lucy cut in before she could get any further. "There's no use arguing with those two blockheads, Orihime." She told the girl, her arms crossed as she shook her head at said blockheads. "I'll stop them before anyone dies, you can trust me with that, at least." She promised the girl. She'd seen the look on those two's faces enough times to know there was no stopping them at this point.

Grimmjow grinned widely, sending her a toothy smile and a quick glance. "Kitten here gets it." He said amusedly, to which she could only sigh.

Boys will be boys, no matter which world they came from, it appeared.

* * *

 **Phew, there we go, guys!  
Honestly, once again, the length of this chapter way surpassed what I expected it to become. But well, I managed to hit the 5.000-word-mark, as I always do aim to hit, so I'm happy~**

 **Obviously, we'll be having a battle coming up next time. And a bit of a talk going on between Orihime and Lucy as well - which, well, Orihime pretty much deserves. It's pretty overdue.  
But well, it's been a long while since I've written out battles… But it should be okay. If not, you're hereby allowed to slap me straight across the face XD**

 **So yeah, hope you liked the chapter dedicated to absolute, 100%, extreme, utter fluff~ Which.. Was unintentional. But it turned out that way, so there's that. What can you do?**

 **As always, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and commenting everyone!**

 **~Line464d**


	25. Chapter 25 - Grimmjow versus Ichigo

**Chapter 25 - Grimmjow versus Ichigo**

 **My skills in writing battles may be a little rusty.. But let's see if this doesn't work out anyway**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Fairy Tail. Surprise, surprise, right?**

* * *

Lucy glared at Grimmjow as the two of them and the two humans safely made it to the much more stable roof of the castle, having left the tower. She knew what he was thinking - as always.

"Don't you even try killing him, Grim. I'll kill _you_ before you even get the chance." She warned him her voice kept low enough to make it impossible for the other two to hear it.

He rolled his eyes at her usual nonsense. "We both know you wouldn't do that." He argued. However, looking into her eyes once more, he got the feeling her words weren't far from the truth. Well, damn, she was serious about this shit. He grunted. "If I can't kill the carrot, then how the hell do you expect me to fight seriously against him?" He asked, giving her no chance to protest before he continued. "Fuck that, I won't be pulling any of my punches. He'll just have to keep himself alive." He told her. To hell if he would go easy on the bastard just because she kinda liked him. Their fight wasn't over; it needed an end.

Once again, before she could say anything, the carrot himself spoke up as well. "Against you, that shouldn't be a problem." He arrogantly announced.

Grimmjow looked over at him. "Says the guy who just got blasted into a building and would have fucking died if it wasn't for the little Kitten over here." He shot back. That guy had no fucking room to talk like that right now.

Said guy looked over at him with a slightly raised brow. "Sure. But by a guy many times stronger than you." He replied challengingly.

A growl erupted from the Espada's throat. The fact that Lucy was fucking giggling right next to him as if that shit was even funny made nothing better. "The fucking numbers don't mean shit, you fucking carrot." He snarled at the human, every muscle in him yearning to tear the cocky fucker apart.

And the fucking carrot dared smirking right back at him. "Never said they did." He calmly replied, a self-satisfied smirk plastered on his ugly fucking mug.

The growl only got deeper at that. "I'll tear you to fucking shreds…!" He snarled. He immediately pounced on the human, using a burst of the Sonido.

In the last second, the human managed to jump away. He was now standing in the middle of the air, his sword drawn and pointing at the Arrancar threateningly. He said nothing as his brown eyes were trained on Grimmjow.

The Espada could only grin at the serious expression the human was showing. "Is skipping around like that all you can do?" He rhetorically asked, the excited grin never leaving his face. Battles like these were way too fucking rare.

Unfortunately, the human didn't let it show if the jab pissed him off at all. Instead, he calmly maintained their eye-contact for a moment longer. He then rushed forward, charging at Grimmjow. When within range, he swung his gigantic-ass sword around as if it weighed nothing.

Easily ducking under the thing, Grimmjow stuck a leg out, swiping the human's feet from under him. Losing his balance mid-air like that sent the human plummeting to the ground.

Of course, the idiot wasn't a complete amateur, so he got himself together before he actually hit the ground. As he looked up almost triumphantly, all the fucker'd see was a foot less than an inch from his nose. Now, _that_ sent the guy crashing into the ground. An explosion of dust rose up, hiding him from view.

Grimmjow grunted. Fucking human thought he was all that. About time someone woke him the fuck up.

His thoughts were halted when a black shadow shot up through the cover of the cloud. Sword held firmly in his hands, the carrot rushed right at him from underneath. All Grimmjow had to do was take one step to the left to avoid it. The way the human stopped up a little father up proved he'd expected this much at least.

Looking at the fucker, it looked like he'd switched to his bankai. The torn, black coat and a smaller but thicker sword being the trademark of it. "That's old news, human." He told the guy, hoping that information wasn't news to the guy. With the grin back on his face, he stuck his hands in his pockets. "Hope you've got something else hidden up in those sleeves of yours." He added with a laugh. So far, the carrot hadn't even had him draw his sword yet. He had a long fucking way to go if he wanted to win this shit.

The human still didn't let the irritation show on his face. He remained silent and charged at the Espada. The human was at Grimmjow's side in an instant, taking the Espada by surprise by the sudden burst of speed. Clearly, the carrot had used the Shinigami version of sonido - shunpo or whatever.

The Espada spun around and sucked his stomach in. Just in time, he managed to not be any more than graced by the cold steel. The following kick he received in the gut, he couldn't evade though. Fucking hell, this carrot had gotten stronger since last. But it still wasn't enough.

Grimmjow quickly retaliated by sending a fist hammering into the human's side. The force of it had him stagger back in surprise and hurt. This gave the Arrancar ample time to fire up a Cero. For now, an ordinary one would do.

The unbalanced wannabe-Shinigami was hit straight in the torso by the beam of reiatsu - it didn't help shit with the already lost balance, so the human had absolutely nothing to prevent him from being forced back by it.

He only let himself be pushed back a few meters, before pulling his zanpakuto up and blocking the Cero. Grimmjow quickly cut it off and rushed at his opponent. The human braced for impact, glaring at the Arrancar. He lifted the sword up above his head in a stance Grimmjow could faintly recognize.

A hard look spread on the human's face as he seemed to charge his sword with his reiatsu "Getsuga…" He trailed off. It all spanned within a second as the human then swung his sword down. "Tensho!" he yelled, a dark wave flying out of the sword as if it was a slipstream.

"Fuck!" Grimmjow growled, already knowing that technique wasn't something to fuck with. He still had the damn scar across his chest from the last time he took a hit of that shit.

Making a fast decision, he quickly drew his own zanpakuto. His reiatsu spiked up and the rush of power it brought had the grin right back on his face. And what was even better about this? Just the output alone was enough to blow that teeny-tiny little wave away.

Even the look on the human's face was absolutely priceless.

Grimmjow casually let the sword rest against his shoulder, pointing up in the air. It really was comfortable to feel this rush of power again - there was nothing he loved more than that.

He looked at the carrot nonchalantly. "Heh, pretty amazing you even forced me to draw my sword and release everything like this." He commented, the grin never having left his face.

The human had seen and even faced him like this before, so it wasn't like he was frozen on the spot this time. He was completely on guard right now.

Grimmjow grinned wider. Cute; He still thought he had a chance.

In a show of his superiority, he sonido'ed right behind the human, who hadn't even realized what had happened. "Think you might wanna pull out that mask of yours." He lowly suggested from behind him, remembering he'd pulled it out right at the end of it all back at Earth.

The human flinched at the sudden presence behind him and quickly jumped back, creating some distance between them again. He narrowed his eyes at the Espada. Thinking about his next move, probably.

But the gap between them right now was obvious even to him. "Fine." He muttered, raising his hand to his face dramatically. Behind it, the mask, which Grimmjow had only barely gotten a glimpse of, appeared. And, along with it, a spike in the human's reiatsu, which was now as dark and Hollow-like as his own was. Yellow eyes glared at him from behind it. "You had better be damn ready, Grimmjow...!" He said.

He'd barely finished the sentence, before he shot forward in a burst of speed. Grimmjow also sprang forward with a laugh, headed for the human. The two clashed in the middle, their two swords whining against one another. "This is more like it, carrot-top!" Grimmjow laughed, his grin even wider than before.

* * *

Lucy sighed and shook her head at the Espada, unceremoniously plumping down on the roof again. That idiot just never changed. He could never get enough of fighting strong opponents. Even if he didn't win. And, well, he was right about the fact that it had been a long time since he'd been allowed to do something like this, as he so often liked to complain about. No wonder he was enjoying himself so much.

"Grimmjow… Really likes battling, d-doesn't he…?" Orihime carefully asked, still standing up and holding her arms in front of her. She was gazing at said battle in front of them with a light crease between her brows.

Lucy smiled lightly at her and nodded. "Mmh, he does." She confirmed, looking at the two fairly evenly matched idiots out there. "And he isn't the only one who does." She added. He was just much more open about his love for it.

After a moment's hesitation, the girl nodded. "Y-yeah. Ichigo likes it too…" She trailed off, as if she didn't know what to think about it all.

The blonde nodded absent-mindedly at the ginger girl's confession. It looked like the ones going to Earth immediately had disappeared already, exchanged by the forces from Soul Society. From the looks of it, Aizen and Gin were still here though. So far, everything truly went according to Aizen's plan… It was kind of scary how accurate he was about it too.

Several battles were being carried out all around as well. No going back now, it seemed. Not that anyone here was planning anything like that.

The blonde shook the thoughts off and looked up at the young girl, who continued to look so overly focused on the match in front of them. "Orihime, why don't you sit down instead?" She asked, gently patting the roof next to her for emphasis. "This match is going to be going on for forever at this rate." She said. Knowing Grimmjow, he'd probably be drawing it out for as long as he possibly could as well.

Like this - Hollowfied and released- they were basically equal. Though.. It looked like Ichigo was actually gaining a bit of ground over there.

The girl looked down as if she expected there to pop spikes out as soon a she sat down. Even so, the girl sat down hesitantly. For a moment, she looked relieved no spikes actually popped up.

The two remained silent for a while, the silence being intensely awkward. Too much for Lucy as well but she knew she shouldn't be the one to break it this time around.

After all, it was clear that the ginger girl didn't quite trust her yet. Not that she should. But it was clear she wanted to though. That was what made this silence awkward.

The conflict in the girl was obvious: On one hand, she knew Lucy'd betrayed them and spied on them for the enemy, but on the other they'd also just spent so much time together and even now, the blonde was being kind to her. It was no wonder she was confused, really.

Finally, the girl mustered up the courage to say something. "Did… Did you really mean what you said back then?" She slowly asked the other girl, rubbing her hands together and looking only at them.

Lucy smiled, already knowing what the girl was talking about - what she said back in that tower a little while ago. She nodded. "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have said it." She reassured the other person. You may not believe me, but I rarely ever lie." She added, knowing it wouldn't seem that way to her.

The girl looked over at her shocked and flustered. "Then… What about everything you've told us..?" She trailed off, looking at the blonde intently, her eyes questioning her as vigorously as her mind likely also was.

Lucy looked back at the girl seriously. She wanted her to understand this. "Everything I told you back then was the truth." She sternly told the girl. Even if they thought she was an evil bitch, she didn't want anyone to misunderstand that. While the girl looked absolutely flabbergasted, the blonde continued. "I am from another world, I grew up in the Heartfilia mansion, I ran away and joined Fairy Tail - where I got the best family you could ever dream of having. I was on Team Natsu and I went on countless missions, fought against countless enemies. All with the help of my Spirits." She looked at the girl again. "I never lied to any of you." She repeated, then sighed lightly and looked down. "As I think you know, all my memories since after I died were taken from me - all right from when I was stabbed in the heart by Aizen's sword so long ago. By the man himself, no less." She told the girl slowly and a little bitterly.

He had even gone and removed her memories of when she wandered the guild, as the fact that her chain ran out like it did was a dead giveaway if she'd told them about any of that.

The girl didn't seem as surprised by the news - more so probably only that she'd been right. "But.. How did he do that?" She asked the blonde, frightened that the man was capable of something like that. But that, he unfortunately was.

Lucy looked at the girl almost apologetically. "I let him" She admitted. She had no other choice back then. Before Orihime could voice her shock as loudly as she looked like she was going to, Lucy explained herself, her gaze back on the Espada. "It was for Grimmjow. Due to.. Certain circumstances, we'd lost our home and his rank as Espada. We needed both of those back and the only way to do that was to strike a deal with Aizen, so that's what I did." She explained.

Orihime paused for a moment, not knowing what to say to that. After a comfortable amount of time had passed, she dared another question. "So then, why would you even be on Aizen's side? You said he was the one who killed you, right?" She asked, now a little more comfortable with asking questions.

One corner of Lucy's lip turned up in a lopsided smile as her gaze never left the two fighters. "At the time, I didn't know. You know how his shikai abilities are to manipulate others' senses, right?" She asked rhetorically, not waiting for the girls' answer. "He used those back then to make himself look like Gin." She explained, distinctly hearing the ginger's loud gasp at that information. She hadn't mentioned that..? "It was only when I was at Earth and away from him that I realized the truth. Before then, I didn't know about any of that." She told the girl, releasing a sigh. This whole situation was just shitty, honestly.

Orihime looked down and away from the blonde. "That's so… Horrible." She muttered, struggling to find the proper words.

She didn't have to though as the conversation was brought to a screeching halt when Ichigo was suddenly sent crashing into the rooftop right next to the two girl. From the looks of it, he wasn't wearing the mask anymore and his reiatsu had returned to normal, which was why Grimmjow'd been able to push him back like that. Looked like his time with that thing had run out…

"Ichigo!" Orihime shrieked, though she didn't move from the spot she was apparently rooted to now. Probably for the best she didn't involve herself too much though. It looked like that human would be fine by himself either way.

Looking at the two idiots, it was clear they both were exhausted. As they were before, they were almost equal. Which meant there were no serious injuries, but instead a lot of smaller ones everywhere. Which tired them out.

Though, now that mask of Ichigo's was gone - and his reiatsu with it - it was clear who had the advantage in this. Either way, it was extremely rude of them to interrupt their conversation like that.

She glared at the both of them, her arms crossed in front of her. "How about you two idiots keep your fight to yourselves and let us be in peace?" She suggested, her gaze locked with Grimmjow's.

He looked extremely amused. "How about you two girlies stay out of our fight instead of being in the way like that, then?" He shot back teasingly. When she narrowed her eyes at him, all he did was grin right back at her and shrug.

Their eye-contact was broken when Ichigo flew up again, his spirit still not broken though his mask was. She sighed, though she couldn't help smiling a little at the idiocy of her Espada. He really was having fun out there, there was no doubt about that. It was a nice change of pace from the sour mood he'd been in recently.

She realized too late she'd showed all of that on her face, when Orihime asked her the next question "You… Really care for Grimmjow… Don't you?" She carefully asked. It almost sounded like she was surprised by that fact - as if it shouldn't be possible.

Lucy glanced over at the girl, then looked back at Grimmjow and smiled. "That, I do." She confirmed with a nod. After everything they'd been through at this point, how much he had helped her and simply just stuck with her, it was impossible not to.

Orihime seemed to look from the blonde to the Espada and back again with slightly wide eyes. Reluctantly, she decided to put her sudden realization into words. "It's almost like he's your…" She trailed off, her voice tiny as a mouse's. She was clearly not sure if she should actually say it out loud like that.

She didn't have to for Lucy to know wat she was talking about though. "My Natsu, right?" She asked after a little pause. Orihime nodded lightly, her brown eyes flickering to her and then quickly away again. The blonde nodded faintly. "You could say that he has become something like that, yes." She confirmed. Something she'd only recently noticed herself. She watched the person they were talking about as he played around in front of them. "He's obviously not as gentle or stupid as Natsu is, but… Yeah, he's different. I guess that's what I like about him." She told the other girl her head slightly tilted as her eyes followed him.

Orihime was quiet for a moment. "But… What about Natsu?" She hesitantly asked. It almost looked like it was hurting her in some way to talk about this. She was a caring girl.

Lucy sighed lightly at the question - one she hadn't really gotten around to asking herself yet. "I honestly don't know." She admitted. She had no clue what Natsu was to her at this point. She loved him, sure, but she wasn't so certain it was quite in the same way as it had been before.

"Oh…" Was all the other girl could say to that. Not that Lucy's words were really that much of a conversation-starter though.

Finding the two had nothing more to talk about with each other, being each other's enemies as well and all, they settled with the silence that grew between them. The battle in front of them was distraction enough, though.

The tide of that battle sure had taken a turn. Going from them being basically equal to Grimmjow playing around with Ichigo, as he so often had the weaker Hollows in their past. Really, it would be no surprise if Ichigo signed out and accepted defeat right then and there. His stubbornness didn't look like it'd let him though, as he met every single one of the Espada's blows head-on.

At first impression of how things were going, anyone'd say Ichigo was going to lose here. Without any doubt in their minds. She wasn't quite so sure. If this guy rally was was alike Natsu as he seemed, it was just a question of enough prodding before he pulled something ridiculous which would win him the match overwhelmingly.

That was her prediction of how this could turn out - either an overwhelming victory or an overwhelming loss. Either way, she wouldn't really be too surprised.

She caught Grimmjow's eye from where he was calmly standing after having knocked Ichigo into the ground. His gaze flickered from hers and to Orihime, who was calling out to Ichigo again. She could easily see the plan he was forming in his devious head when the gleeful grin returned to his face.

"Hey, carrot-top. How about we spice this shit up a bit - it's getting pretty damn boring, don't you think?" He rhetorically asked. No matter what the answer was, even if it was silence, the idiot would still do it. She could even feel him gathering his reiatsu

She shook her head at him, though he didn't look towards her even the slightest. "That's a really stupid idea, Grim.." She muttered to herself. This would truly mean the end of the battle - and not in his favor.

But he probably knew that already, from the slightly crazed expression on his face. Seemed that this kind of end to their battle was too anticlimactic and boring to him.

Orihime looked to her, her hands shaking just a little. "W-what idea?!" She asked. She didn't know what it was, but she obviously knew it wasn't good.

Lucy didn't look away from Grimmjow as she replied. "Whatever happens, Orihime, you will not be harmed the slightest." She simply promised the girl, which only got her even more scared. Not that the fact that Lucy was readying her own energies helped any. A safety-precaution in case her prediction was off.

Grimmjow almost literally grinned from ear to ear as he'd gathered all the reiatsu he needed. "Think fast! Gran Rey Cero!" He yelled, making a show of sending the reiatsu shooting towards the two girls.

Seeing the really, fucking rapidly approaching Cero, she quickly flared her reiatsu and magic out to cover both her and the girl. Orihime screamed loudly, frozen to the spot and unable to do anything in the face of her impending doom.

For an instant, when the Cero was less than a meter from the two of them, she worried that she might actually have to take that hit and she'd have to hand Grim's ass to him later on.

Until a black back materialized right in front of her eyes, sending the Cero flying off at another angle. The reiatsu the person in front of them exuded was almost tangible in the air around him - many times worse than what it had been before - and so purely malicious and Hollow.

Ichigo glanced back at the two as if to make sure they were okay. The way Orihime flinched at his gaze had his now golden eyes softening for a moment, but then he turned to the Arrancar with a piercing glare through the holes of his revived mask. "You fucking bastard." He seethed, his voice many times deeper and darker than before.

Grimmjow had prodded just the right way, it seemed.

* * *

Grimmjow grinned widely. Everything was just as he wanted it - the human was properly pissed now and wouldn't be pushed over. "What're ya going to do about it carrot-top?" He asked gleefully. Now, this was a proper, fucking battle.

The next moment, the human was right in front of him. The sword pressed to his neck. Enough to draw blood. "Kill you." He curtly declared.

Grimmjow could only grin. His own sword was against the human's neck as well. "Ohh, scary." He sarcastically cooed. They both jumped back from each other. Grimmjow crouched down. He gripped his zanpakuto in both hands. "Show me you got the fucking balls to follow up on that promise, human." He taunted.

The human rushed forward with a shunpo. Their two swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere. He suddenly twirled around. He continued and hacked his sword right into Grimmjow's side.

Grimmjow groaned at the impact, but ignored it. He jumped up and over the human and spun around. He raked his claws down the length of the human's back. He didn't give a damn about the crimson blood, which gushed forth under his nails. It was the best part.

The human spun around quickly. He hammered the blunt end of the sword into the Arrancar's stomach. He was sent flying, out of breath.

Grimmjow collected himself before he collided with the tower. He pushed off the wall of it, charging right back at the human. The tower crumbled behind him.

Just before their swords clashed again, he shifted to the side. The human caught it in time and dodged out of his range. Grimmjow saw him raising his sword and slashing down and quickly met the blade with his own arm. The blade cut in deeply. But not so deeply he was unable to do anything.

With the opponent's sword stuck in his arm, Grimmjow swung his own. Before it connected, the human caught it with his bare hand. Stuck like that, the human spoke. "Hope you've got something else hidden up in those sleeves of yours, Arrancar." He spat the Arrancar's words right back.

Grimmjow grinned. "Oh, don't you worry about me, human." He replied pulling his arm back. Pressing down on the sword the human was holding, he spun. He delivered a kick right into the human's side. The human didn't budge.

The human suddenly disappeared. Moments later, Grimmjow received a kick to his jaw, sending him flying again. Not able to follow the speed of the human, he couldn't evade the hit to his back either, which sent him pummeling down, into the ground.

Grimmjow crashed with his stomach to the ground, coughing the sand out of his mouth. He felt the human approaching and turned around on his back. In the nick of time, he caught and grabbed the blade before it pierced his shoulder.

He grinned up at the human, who seethed with anger. "Take this, you bastard." He growled, releasing a hand from the blade. He fired off a quick Cero at point-blank range, ramming it into the human's stomach.

The human roared animalistically at the hit, skidding backwards when the sword was released. He was royally pissed now. His reiatsu rose, growing even darker. The mask extended, covering more of his face and neck, seemingly stuck to him.

He was losing it. As the Kitten said, his Hollow was gaining more control now. He wasn't even fighting the human any longer. Fuck.

Grimmjow jumped to his feet, gripping his zanpakuto in his bloody hands. The bastard just got a power-up. He needed to be more careful now.

But that was great. This was great.

He barely had time to blink before the human charged at him. He jumped up into the air, letting his opponent pass by underneath him. The gleeful grin from having tricked him only barely got the chance to make an appearance.

As soon as he was airborne from the jump, the guy had turned around. He had charged his sword with his reiatsu again. Without a word spoken, he'd sent the wave of dark reiatsu right into the Arrancar's back.

Grimmjow felt white-hot pain explode from his back. The hit sent him tumbling forward. He narrowly managed a roll-fall instead of a collision. By the time he was on his feet again, the human was already at his side.

A hit to the side sent him flying again, rolling on the ground. When he finally stopped, on his back, and opened his eyes, he was met by the sight of a black sword being stabbed down. He quickly rolled to the right, the blade only missing his head by a hair's breadth. He quickly rolled back, realizing the human wouldn't stop there. The sound of the steel being lodged into the ground came right next to his ear.

If it continued like this, that damned carrot-top would stab him in the eye at some point. Fucking hell if he would die like that.

Grimmjow pulled his legs up and rammed his feet into the human's chest - if he could even be called that. While the human regained his footing, he jumped away. He needed some distance between them.

It was clear this thing was even faster than he was. Which was really fucking problematic. He'd have to play real fucking smart if he wanted to win this shit.

From the looks of it, it looked like the human was going on instincts instead of intelligence. He was like a damn animal. But Grimmjow could use that shit to his advantage.

Gritting his teeth, he charged at the human again, his zanpakuto raised in front of him. With a guttural growl, the human did the same.

Unexpectedly, their swords didn't clash. They didn't even touch. The human grabbed Grimmjow's blade unflinchingly in one hand. Using the momentum created from the charge, he swung Grimmjow around. He slammed the Arrancar's back right into the ground behind him.

Grimmjow was pretty sure he heard something crack as the metallic taste of blood exploded on his tongue, stars flew behind his eyes and all air came rushing out of his lungs. He could only watch as the human raised the sword right above him, ready to deliver the last bow.

Fuck. So he really was going to end shit this way, huh? The way this was going, he couldn't dodge this time. The fucker had tired him out after becoming a damn beast. That said, he wouldn't just roll over and let that shit happen without letting the bastard know they were fucking enemies right till this damn shitty end.

He kept glaring up at the beast, even as he watched the bastard's muscles twitching in preparation of dropping the final blow.

The instant before the beast moved, someone appeared above Grimmjow in an explosion of gold. It wasn't powerful or anything like that, but the blow still sent the beast falling to its ass.

"I think that's enough, Ichigo." The person spoke from above Grimmjow, their back to them as they stood almost protectively with one foot on each side of him, between him and his opponent.

"Fucking hell…" He muttered. That's right, he'd completely forgotten in the heat of it all - he couldn't leave yet. He still had her. "That's some damn, fucking good timing, Kitten." He said, feeling the relief of still being around wash through him and make the pain in his back truly come to life.

She smiled at him over her shoulder, looking like a damn guardian angel to him that moment. "Of course. I promised I wouldn't let anyone die. And I-" She paused shortly, thoughtfully. "Almost always keep my promises." She reminded him with a little wink. There was one promise he'd forced her to give up - and damn it if he wasn't glad he did that now.

Their attention was brought back to the human when he regained his senses. "What… Happened…?" He slowly asked, confused. The mask which'd seemed stuck to his face like damn glue was gone now, as if it had never existed in the first place. Fuck anyone who said magic wasn't damn powerful.

"Your battle is over." She told him, stepping to the side now she was sure that bastard wouldn't try anything else.

Over, and with his little Kitten as the damn winner.

* * *

 **Welp, that's that battle. Hope I did fair enough despite rust and whatnot!  
As you could probably tell from the last sentence, absolutely nothing was settled between those two. So that's nice. **

**Oh, and what you could also see was Grimmjow showcasing a bit of his real and true feeling there. Please tell me I'm not the only one kiiiiinda fangirling over that XD**

 **Yup, and then we got a talk between Orihime. Which was way long overdue. But damn it all if a lot hasn't happened for the poor blonde these last 48-or-so hours!**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it! And thanks, as always, for reading, following, favoriting and commenting! Lights up my day, really!**

 **~Line464d**


	26. Chapter 26 - I'll Never Leave

**Chapter 26 - I'll Never Leave**

 **Okay, so since I apparently haven't made myself clear enough on the topic previously, I'll be bringing it up here. No, sweeties, there will not be a single lemon in this story or any I have ever intended to write. So keep your pants on, okay? ^^  
That said, get ready for things to go down in this chapter, guys~**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Please read and review!  
Disclaimer: Sorry but no. Hiro and Tite, Mashima and Kubo. Those two heroes are the ones who created Fairy Tail and Bleach, such god-like stories. I'm just borrowing them. **

* * *

Ichigo looked up at the blonde Arrancar like a lost kitten would. "What…?" Was all he could reply to her declaration of the end of their battle.

She sighed lightly. "You lost control of yourself, Ichigo." She told him. As soon as she'd seen that mask of his extend the way it had, she'd been on her toes. There had been several times she'd been just about ready to charge in and stop the both of them, but then Grimmjow managed to push him back again. The final time, she could see the resignation in his body though, so she knew it had been her time to shine.

But damn it if she hadn't been scared for him every single damn time. Her heart had leaped and skipped a whole beat every time it looked like Ichigo would stab his eye out. The relief every time he'd avoided it had no doubt been obvious on her face even from a mile away.

She turned and looked down at the currently fallen Espada. Just the fact that he wasn't event trying to stand up was more than enough confirmation for her that the last blow had been a really damn bad one He'd always made sure to stand up straight in front of an opponent - never showing any weakness like he was now. He was hurt that bad.

But well, you didn't even have to know him to know that - it was obvious with all the many wounds scattered all over him. He was quite literally lying in a steadily growing pool of his own blood. There was not a single patch of his bared skin which wasn't covered in blood - both his own and Ichigo's she had to hope. The stark contrast of it to his white clothes just made it worse.

Even so, she already knew he wouldn't let her heal him in front of those two right now - his pride wouldn't allow for it.

"Which of us won, then?" Ichigo slowly asked as he struggled to sit up. Funny he even felt the need to ask when he could look right over at Grimmjow and see the outcome for himself. He wasn't without injury himself, sure, but it really couldn't be compared.

She kneeled down next to Grimmjow and gently pulled one of his arms around her neck, all while completely ignoring the would-be Shinigami.

Grimmjow groaned as she pulled him up into a sitting position. Despite that, he still had the energy to give the human a pissed glare. "None of us did, you fucking dumbass." He growled as pain no doubt washed through him. It always magnified whenever the battle would end. While Ichigo looked shocked and - once gain - confused about that, Lucy pulled Grimmjow to his feet despite the groan. She would have healed him before doing this, but he honestly wouldn't let her. "Thanks, Kitten." He somehow managed to breathe out.

She smiled lightly at him though worry gnawed at the back of her head. He definitely broke his back this time… The faster she could get some Hollow in him, the better. "No problem." She lightly replied.

Orihime appeared next to Ichigo, who had worked himself on his feet already. She looked her friend over before turning to the two Arrancar across from her. "Do you… Need any help?" She slowly asked them.

From the way her reiatsu was acting, Lucy had to guess she meant with healing. The blonde shook her head gently, making sure not to rustle the one hanging over her shoulders. "No thank you, Orihime." She smiled at the girl. That girl really didn't have a single evil bone in her. The girl looked about ready to protest, so Lucy took the word again. "We'll be fine, don't worry." She reassured the girl, using her reiatsu and magic to create a near-invisible tendril of energy to pick Grimmjow's zanpakuto up and re-sheathe it as if to prove her point. The little trick seemed to completely awe the two gingers. "Just focus on yourselves." She elaborated.

"O-okay then… If you say so." Orihime reluctantly agreed, then turned to Ichigo with a questioning look in her eyes, asking him the same question she had them. He quickly shook his head, not about to be healed in front of his opponent either.

Such a pair of stubborn donkeys they'd both been stuck with. Looked like it really would be for the best if they went their separate ways as soon as possible - she needed to get Grimmjow back to their wing already. If she didn't remember all wrong, they should still have a few Hollows in the stock near the gym as well.

Lucy turned to the two humans, who seemed to have the same idea. "You two should go to the throne room." She told them. Basically the fancy way of saying 'meeting room'. "Aizen should still be there with Gin at his side." She told them, her gaze alternating between them. "That _is_ your goal, right?" She asked. It couldn't only have been rescuing Orihime that drove him here.

"It is." He quickly confirmed with a nod. "Thank you, we will go to him immediately." He answered, seemingly not all that surprised she'd go and rat out her own boss like that. Either he just hadn't registered what she'd just done or he was secretly a genius, who'd had this all figured out beforehand. She didn't care to figure out which at the moment.

She nodded back as well. "Just follow his reiatsu, you can't miss the room." She explained. After all, it was probably the largest one they had. "Just beware, he'll have guards, maybe even-"

"Kitten! Five o-" Grimmjow cut her off, only to be cut off himself when he was thrown into the human.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she'd whirled around and drawn her curled-up zanpakuto. It immediately clashed with another, giving her no time to even release it. She only barely managed not to be sliced in two pieces herself.

The zanpakuto she clashed with had a very distinct look about it; two crescent moons merged together at the back and sharp as a katana on the inside. And it had definitely not been aimed at the two humans; she and Grimmjow had been the targets of this blade. Maybe only Grimmjow, even.

All this put together told her clearly enough who her opponent was. "What the fuck are you doing here, Nnoitora?" She growled at him, ignoring the sounds the three behind her made.

The disgusting bastard leaned in closer, putting more pressure behind his zanpakuto, forcing her to respond in kind. He was smiling as creepily as he always had. "Oh, you know, I figured I should come over here since it looked like you guys were having so much fun." He sarcastically replied with a playful tone. It disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at her sharply. "Besides, that is no way for a Fracción to speak to their future Espada." He added.

This shit again? When would the guy get the hint? "Fuck. You." She said, clearly pronouncing each word. She would never, ever, become one of his Fracción. Never in a million years.

She could hear Grimmjow match her irritation behind her with a growl of his own. "What the fuck, Nnoitora? Get the hell out of here, you fucking cunt, and leave us the fuck alone. Or I'll come right over there and fucking kill you myself." He told the Espada, anger and a lust for fight brimming in his voice.

Nnoitora looked from her to Grimmjow, an unimpressed look growing on his face. He looked the sexta from head to toe, then clicked his tongue. "You can't even stand, weak furball. It's about time you just give up the senseless resistance." He disdainfully told the guy.

Grimmjow only growled even deeper at that, attempting to break away from the human, who was holding him up. He didn't even get to take a single step as he fell face-first into the sand, his legs caving in under him.

Nnoitora laughed loudly at the Espada, so much so he lowered his zanpakuto, not even trying to reign it in. "In that sorry state, you can't even fucking scratch the human girl over there." He loudly declared, his eyes glowing in mirth at the look of the Espada on the ground.

"Good fucking thing he has his Fracción here then, isn't it?" Lucy snarled, having slipped away to the right while the bastard of an Espada was distracted. As soon as he turned to her, he was met with a heel planted firmly into his face. "Perverted bastard." She hissed just as he was sent skidding on the white sand from the hit.

"Wha- bu- aren't you..?!" Orihime struggled, her eyes wide as she looked to the blonde in wonder. She really thought they were allies after what she'd just seen?

Lucy looked to them as if only now realizing they were still there. "This has nothing to do with you two. Get out of here already." She ordered them curtly, her irritation preventing her from being any more polite than that to the two

She didn't waste any more time on them, instead focusing on Nnoitora ahead of her. The disgusting creep was easily getting to his feet over there as if the hit had meant nothing to him whatsoever. He was still an Espada, even if he had that pathetic kind of personality. And if she remembered correctly, he had the - self-proclaimed - strongest skin and defense out of all of them.

Grimmjow groaned in an effort to turn himself around, then stopped the human girl before she could go and protest any further. "He was never targeting any of you, so just go." He growled at them, as pissed about this entire situation as she was. Maybe even more so.

Reluctantly, the two humans vanished, Ichigo grabbing Orihime and using the shunpo. Great, that was that amount less to worry about.

Nnoitora casually brushed himself off for sand. "You know, I really like women, who can put up a fight like this." He slowly told her, his dark eye meeting hers with a glint. "As long as they do what I tell them to, of course." He added, the smirk spreading on his face again.

She could only glare at him. That was how disgusted she was. She'd had many different men fawn over her looks before, but this creep took every single cake. He was simply the most disgusting, vile, nasty, revolting, foul creature she'd ever met. And so god damn persistently obsessive - especially about things he knew he couldn't have.

He continued grinning at her nonchalantly, as if what he'd just said wasn't reason enough for her to kill him right then and there. "It's about time you learn where you really belong, woman." He so rudely addressed her. "Leave that weak cripple behind you and join me, already." He so graciously offered.

She growled under her breath, her inner flames of rage flaring to life. She didn't hesitate to rush him, her fingers coated by both of her energies, elongating them to the sharpest of claws. Nnoitora grabbed her arm, turning it away from his face before she could hit him directly. But in doing that, he made sure one of her claws scraped across his cheek. Not a lot, but it drew just a thin line of blood.

He gently reached up and touched his cheek. Feeling the warm liquid on his fingertips, he pulled them back and looked at them as if he didn't know what it was. "Interesting." He simply commented. Moments later, his lecherous gaze returned to her. "As I said, I like my women feisty." He repeated himself.

She glared at him, retracting her claws on the hand he was holding and instead pushed them out on the other in the blink of an eye. Striking faster than he could follow, she buried all five of them in his left shoulder. "Take a fucking hint, you bastard!" She snarled at him, roughly pulling them out again.

He yelled out in pain, releasing her arm in the gaze of it and letting her jump back and away from him again. "You fucking bitch!" He screamed at her, his own fury lighting up in his eyes as blood spurted from the punctures and on the ground.

She narrowed her eyes at him. He'd brought this on himself from way back. She felt absolutely no regret doing this. "I will never leave Grimmjow. Not for you. Not for Aizen. Not for anybody. So don't even try it!" She yelled back at him, only barely catching Grimmjow's murmur to himself. He was surprised by her announcement, clearly.

As was Nnoitora who now glared right back at her, clutching his shoulder. "If that's the game you wanna play…" He trailed off, his insane amounts of reiatsu rolling around in preparation in him. He gripped his zanpakuto harshly. "Then let's play it!" He yelled, charging right at her.

She jumped just in time to land on the wide zanpakuto rather than being cut by it. When he fanned the weapon upwards in an attempt to throw her off, she used the momentum of it to propel her up in the air again.

She turned around so she was upside-down, her two energies gathered and charged at the back of her mouth. Nnoitora looked up just in time to realize what was going to happen. "Regulus' Cero!" She chanted as the golden-orange ray flew out of her mouth and right at the Espada.

When she nimbly landed on the ground again on her feet, she looked up to see Nnoitora with his arms crossed in front of his face, his previously long-sleeved coat now with torn, shorter sleeves, revealing the freshly injured skin underneath. Blood was already coming forth slowly.

She grimaced. Damn it! He'd managed to block it after all. Well, but some damage was still better than none if it had to be this way.

He lowered his arms, looking like the hit really didn't bother him much. The fact she had been able to land it, though… That looked like it bothered him to no end.

He gritted his teeth as he glared at her. "Even though you're a woman, you're surprisingly strong, aren't you?" He rhetorically asked her, his regeneration already taking care of the wounds.

She clenched her jaw and glared right back at him at his clear disrespect of her gender. She didn't bite on to his bait though, letting it pass by without a comment. "That's because I've got the best trainer out there." She snarled. His underestimating her was only an advantage, even if it was so fucking annoying to be subject to every time.

That said he bit straight into her bait and very obviously got pissed off by that declaration of hers. Without a word spoken, he raised his crescent moon-shaped zanpakuto and swung it at her.

She immediately raised her arm, covering it in a thick layer of a mixture of both energies. The almost transparent, maybe slightly golden shield soon clashed with the strangely shaped zanpakuto. She didn't need any longer than a second to realize she wouldn't be able to keep this up for even a single minute.

Which meant she had to put an end to this as fast as she possibly could. And she knew just how.

"Rokureichi, data on Nnoitora." She hurriedly ordered the little bug, which had been hiding in her pocket all this time. She watched as it zapped right up and to the Espada's neck, where it bit into him to gather the information.

Nnoitora yelled and jumped back, rubbing his neck as the little thing quickly returned to her. "What the hell was that?!" He loudly asked her.

She ignored for a moment as it delivered all the information it carried to her with another little bite. Everything right from how big his toe-nails were to his power-levels in his Resurreción form transferred vividly into her head. Yeah, she definitely stood no chance if he decided to take her seriously.

Which made this the only solution. She smirked lightly at him, holding the bug up a little. "Looks like someone should've paid a little more attention back at the meeting." She said almost amusedly.

She watched with an even wider smirk as his eye widened in realization. "No… Don't you even dare think about that, woman." He slowly hissed at her.

She maintained eye-contact with him as she spoke to the bug. "Rokureichi." She started out.

"NO!" He yelled, charging at her in blind rage.

"Send his information to power control." She managed to say a fraction of a second before he Espada crushed the thing in his bare palm.

For a moment, there was completely silent. Even the sound of their baited breathing was non-existent.

The smirk spread even wider on her face as she felt out his reiatsu. "Looks like you were too late, sweetie." She patronizingly teased him, hearing the familiar laugh of Grimmjow's behind her.

Nnoitora growled, holding up his hands in front of him, staring at them as if that would bring his reiatsu back.

Unfortunately for him, the only thing which'd do that was if he stepped out of the 1 kilometer radius the devices had - which'd bring him far away from Las Noches. Even if he shot a Cero or the like at them from out there, it would be neutralized as soon as it came within that radius.

She nonchalantly turned her back to him, walking towards Grimmjow instead. It was about high time they got some Hollows in him already. "Just leave, Nnoitora. There's nothing more for you to do here." She told him.

"You fucking bitch…!" He snarled at her, charging her once again with the gigantic blades. She barely turned and simply stopped him with only the tip of her index-finger. "Wha…?!" Was all he could blurt out.

She looked at him over her shoulder. Did he really not understand what the loss of his reiatsu meant for him in this situation? "Right now, you're about as strong as a newborn baby. You can't even scratch me with this dull blade of yours." She explained.

Grimmjow laughed again. "Even I could beat you right now, fucker." He elaborated, just to piss the guy off properly. "Just fuck off or you'll lose your worthless fucking life too." He then warned the guy as she dropped her un-scratched finger.

He tisked and glared at the both of them. "The next time I see your damn faces, you'll both die. Just you wait. You're gonna pay for this." He grounded out, turning around and taking his very slow leave, trying to retain any dignity he had left. Not that a person who'd attack an injured person had any to begin with.

"You're welcome to try, fucker!" Grimmjow called out to him, clearly high on this little victory of theirs.

She smiled and shook her head at him. She couldn't deny that she could relate with those feelings though - she was as relieved as he was that things had ended so easily this time around.

He looked to her with a grin. "Well, damn, Kitten. You sure showed his ass." He said, clearly enjoying it all. Much more than her, even.

She shrugged lightly. She didn't win that little scuffle, per se, she just postponed it. She had no doubts he'd be back with a vengeance at some point in time. But they'd be ready for him when that time came.

She crouched down and hauled him to his feet again. "Come on, let's get you something to eat." She murmured, getting a single nod of approval from him before she sonido'ed straight to their wing. She gently placed him on their bed. Though he tried to hide it, his wince of pain didn't go unnoticed by her. "Just wait here a moment." She told him, already exiting the room.

"Like I can really do anything else." She heard him sarcastically reply. Well, if he was fresh enough to talk shit, then it wasn't a life-threatening situation he was in, at least.

She quickly went to their little storage in the far right corner of their gym. The Hollows had been locked in there for a few days, so they weren't exactly fresh. But they were better than nothing right now.

Picking a random one, she wasted no time in slitting its throat before it could even begin to resist. She grabbed one of the horns protruding from its mask. Since they didn't have as much space here as they did in the main stock, they only had Adjuchas which were small in size. That way they could also fit through the doors in their wing easily.

Se dragged the dying Hollow after her through the wing without batting an eye. Hopefully one would be enough for the Espada to get back on his feet again, even if they were hardly the strongest of Adjuchas out there. He could eat more if he wanted from there by himself.

She dropped the lifeless creature on the bed next to the blue-haired Arrancar lying there. He wasted absolutely no time, his eyes shining with hunger as he bit into it. He was basically inhaling it at the speed he was eating it, despite being in the awkward position of lying flat on his back.

She sat down by him, watching as all of his external wounds and cuts instantly healed up, even the deeper ones. Those weren't the ones she'd been worried about though - she was more so worried about the internal ones.

As she had done earlier that very same day, she called her reiatsu out, using it to both check on and heal him however she could.

She grimaced lightly - she'd been right. Grimmjow hadn't escaped that last hit without a broken back. And it was a nasty one at that; broken at several places.

But even as bad as it was, that too was touched by the effects of his high-speed regeneration. As long as he stayed like this - lying down with his back stretched out - he should heal up just fine in a couple of minutes. Regeneration, though powerful, wasn't perfect.

Grimmjow devoured the last of the Hollow she'd brought him and sighed contentedly. "Damn, that hit the fucking spot." He said with a satisfied smile, and began making the first movements to sit up.

Groaning in her mind at his 'awesome' timing, she put a firm hand on his chest and shook her head. "You can't sit up just yet, Grim." She told him, pushing him down in the soft covers again.

He frowned as he looked up at her, but made no actual move to go against her order. "And why's that, exactly?" He asked her.

She looked at him pointedly. "Well, you know I figured you wanted your back healed properly rather than being disfigured the rest of your life." She told him, a brow raised for emphasis.

"Oh…" He muttered. She could feel him falling back and relaxing under her palm.

She smiled lightly at how readily he did as she told him to, simply waiting for it to fix itself. Though she had no doubts it'd do just fine by itself, she decided she might as well speed up the process herself as much as she could.

Lighting her palms up with reiatsu again, she focused on helping the regeneration heal him all up. It still took a lot of concentration for her to do it - she couldn't really talk or even let her mind drift too far off as she did this.

Despite that, she could feel his gaze locked on her face, never flickering even for a moment.

Though she kind of wanted to, she forced herself to give what she was doing her undivided attention rather than looking up to see what kind of expression he was wearing right at that moment.

She took a deep breath, shaking herself out of her weird thoughts. He was probably just spacing out - not that that happened for him often.

In only a short amount of time, she could already feel that the regeneration had done its wonders on him. He was all healed up now, thankfully. That didn't mean he could go and head to battle right this moment of course - he was still depleted of reiryoku. Eating a Hollow certainly helped, but he was still low on it. The little stock they had would never fill him up. Only time could do that.

Well, but it also looked like they'd be getting a moment of peace, so it didn't really matter right now.

She leaned back as she removed her hands from where they'd been hovering above his chest. "There… That should be it." She lowly said, finally meeting his sky-blue eyes. "How do you feel?" She gently asked him. The silence in the room right now was weird. Not awkward or bad - neither good exactly - it was just weird. And she wasn't sure if it was right of her to break it just like that.

Grimmjow stared at her for a moment longer, before he somehow shook whatever trance he'd been in off of him. He immediately sat up, as if flustered, and turned his attention his arms, which he was moving around as if testing them. "Yeah, I feel-" He turned his head to her, the two of them now nose-to-nose. "… Great." He slowly whispered, his warm breath gently caressing her cheek.

She was rendered speechless at the sudden close proximity. "That's… Good." She somehow managed to mutter through the haze in her head.

This felt different. They'd been close like this before - closer even. Heck, they even slept in that tiny bed of theirs together every night. But somehow, something was completely different about it now.

She felt helpless; lost. She didn't know at all what to do or say, even if she could. But the look in his eyes kept her from doing anything. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen in him before.

Slowly, tryingly, he reached out to her. She sat completely still as his warm hand gently stroke her cheek. He paused when his fingers lightly dug into her blonde hair. His eyes moved back to hers once again, staring at her as if he was seeing something new.

She barely breathed as he leaned in close. Her eyes fluttered shut even before she felt the gentle warmth of him touch her lips.

* * *

He didn't know what part of him had driven him to do his, but not a single one of them were the slightest bit against it.

Going purely by instinct, he slowly moved his lips against her soft ones. She responded in kind, tilting her head lightly for him and placing one of her small hands on his collarbone, gripping it lightly.

She was warm and tasted incredibly sweet. Usually, that wasn't his thing, but this kind of sweet… It was definitely his thing.

Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from her again, his hand sliding down to the back of her neck.

The way she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him in the silver moonlight had him speechless. He had never seen her blush before, but there was no doubt that was what was happening right now. The pale lightly only made it all the more clear.

Despite that, she took him by surprise when she quickly leaned in and captured his lips with her own. She only let it last a short moment, instead pulling away to rest her forehead against his, giving him a meaningful look.

His body understood the invitation she was extending to him and immediately crushed her flush up against him, picking up where she had so suddenly left off.

The tiny moan that escape her made something snap in him. As if something that had been held back for far too long was finally released, he circled an arm around her waist and flipped her around. Without ever breaking the kiss, he pushed her down in the bed, using his own body to trap her in place.

He almost shivered when he felt her run her fingers down his chest and torso. The touch was light, but made wherever she'd left a trail burn comfortably.

The sensation made him want her to feel the same way. He let the hand, which had been resting at her neck slowly trail down to her shoulders and further down past her waist.

He felt her slide a hand back and around his broad back, trying to pull him down to her even as she arched her own back to reach him. He fell down as she requested, pressing his chest to hers, though he made sure not to crush her under his weight.

As if to thank him, she tilted her head even further, allowing for him to deepen their kiss. Absolutely nothing could prevent him from doing just that either. As he was about to, though, he felt a strange, light touch playfully striding across his teeth.

Was that… her tongue? He didn't spend any more time wondering about it, as he also opened his mouth to let himself explore a little - just as she was. His collided with hers almost instantly, but neither let that stop them. They let their tongues dance around, exploring each other.

And they continued until their lungs were completely empty of air and they were forced to cut it off, leaving the both of them panting.

Thinking back, he realized this was something that had been building up in him for a hell of a long time. It was no wonder he couldn't stop touching her now.

Even though so fucking much had happened this day, she'd stayed strong throughout it all. Through all the meetings with that bastard Shinigami, where he dropped the bomb that he knew about her, right to going to her world. Even as she reunited with all those fairies, she'd remained strong. Thinking about those guys before herself, not letting them know of and suffer from the truth of what she'd done. Even if that'd have been easier on herself.

She'd fucking faced that bastard Shinigami head-on and made sure they got one of the good positions in this place. She'd made sure the damn human didn't die, just so he could end their battle. And then she'd even gone and saved his damn life when it flashed right before his eyes. Twice, actually. She pushed his weak ass away just so she could face that disgusting freak herself. And she'd beat that creepy ass so thoroughly he would never recover from it again.

If that creepy bastard had been seeing this in her the entire time, it was no surprise he'd been so damn obsessive about her.

Grimmjow growled lightly under his breath at the thought, trailing small kisses down her neck and shoulder. "I hope what you told that creepy asshole was a promise." He told her, watching with a sense of pride as she enjoyed his touched with her eyes closed. They lazily opened, looking up at him through her lashes curiously. He moved his face to hover above hers when he realized she wouldn't be saying anything. "Because I'm never letting you go now, my little Kitten." He warned her with a lopsided smirk.

She smiled softly at him, her hands siding up to lock behind his neck. He let her roll them over, now with her on top and straddling him by the hips. She leaned down and bumped her forehead to his, their noses gently gracing each other.

She smiled even brighter, her warmth easily transferring to him. "Good, because I'll never leave you." She told him with a soft voice.

She went down to kiss him again. Hers was nothing like the one before; it was slow and filled to the brim with her feelings. She conveyed them all perfectly as she ran her fingers over the hard remnant on his jaw and up into his hair, while the other rested on his chest and steadied her.

Accepting her pace with this, he gently caressed her thigh as his other hand slowly stroke down the length of her back. He followed the remnant covering her spine, letting his fingers trail over every little bump in it.

He'd reached about halfway when she suddenly shivered at his otherwise feathery touch, forced to pull away from the kiss. She looked at him almost apologetically. "Sorry… A soft spot, I think." She whispered, seemingly kind of shy about it.

He grinned and placed his hand flat on her back. "Oh? Is it now?" He simply asked her teasingly, starting to draw circles on this 'soft spot' of hers.

She literally trembled at his touch, yet curled up so that he could continue doing it, resting her head on his chest. He wouldn't even be surprised if she started purring - she acted just like a little kitten being scratched just the right place. It was pretty damn adorable.

And all his.

She breathed out a satisfied sigh, relaxing completely on top of him. He couldn't prevent a little smile from rising to his face at the sight of it. He really wouldn't mind if this moment never ended.

But obviously, that was not how it was going to be.

His eyes caught something, which wasn't usually there on their little nightstand. He reached out and took it with his unoccupied hand to see what it was. It barely took him any longer than a short moment to realize what that shit was - other than the end of this moment.

"Kitten, you'd really want to take a look at this shit." He told her, holding the little slip of paper out so they could both see it.

She first looked to him with a confused hum, then turned to the paper he was holding out, reading it with him. Grimmjow could even hear the snake himself say it in his head.

'Are ya really sure Aizen's goin' ta Earth?'

* * *

 **Oooo~ How I love cliffies~  
I'd actually planned to leave it off just as it shifted to Grim's point of view, but figured I should keep that all together - besides, I still got my cliffhanger (though the other one would've definitely been meaner - aren't I nice?)**

 **Ah yes, and then we saw a surprisingly sweet side of Grim this time around. Even I didn't expect him to be like that - it just happened. Aka I just 'went with the flow'. Originally, I planned for him to just… Straight up push her into the bed. But he had other plans, apparently. What can you do?  
Hope the scene was satisfactory for you all though! And yeah, as I said at the top. There will be no lemons, so there's no reason for you all to be disappointed, m'kay?**

 **Of course, we also saw Lucy absolutely flaunt her baddassery as well, kicking Nnoitora's ass to oblivion. Though, she didn't really fight. Which, to me, just makes it even more badass.**

 **And, well, we have a certain person's little message at the end. Hope it's not too hard to figure out who it's from and what it's about, though~**

 **Anywho, thanks a BUNCH to all of you! Thank you so much for reading, following, favoriting and definitely commenting! Love ya to pieces!**

 **~Line464d**


	27. Chapter 27 - True Intentions

**Chapter 27 - True Intentions**

 **Thank you for the great reception of last chapter, guys!  
Ready to pick up where we left off, though?**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Definitely own both Bleach and Fairy Tail. That's why I'm writing this fanfiction. Obviously. **

* * *

Lucy reached out and immediately snatched the letter from Grimmjow's hand, reading it several times; over and over again. The little smiley with silver hair and closed eyes only confirmed that this was real - only one person would do it like this.

She knew exactly what it meant. Fairy Tail, her friends, they were in serious danger right now.

She glanced up from the short note and at Grimmjow, seeing that he was watching her for her reaction. She had just promised him she wouldn't…

He exhaled deeply under her. She was pretty sure she even saw him rolling his damn eyes too. "Why the fuck are you still here, Kitten?" He asked her, giving her the green lights, basically. Just this once, she could leave him.

Though impatience was nipping at her heels, she took her time smiling widely and appreciatively at him. "Thank you, Grim.." She muttered, pulling him in for a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her as well, giving her a quick squeeze. "Yeah, sure." He simply replied, then pushed her back again, giving her a lopsided grin. "Now, don't go and kill that bastard too fucking quick - I have some unsettled business with that fucker as well." He told her.

She grinned at him, swinging herself off him and the bed in one fell swoop. "Better be quick about it then, Grim. I can't promise I can hold anything back against him." She warned him. She could already feel her protectiveness of her family and the fury that they were being threatened move around in her. She would not be able to hold back, even if she had wanted to do something like that.

He sat up as well, following her off of it. "I'll be right behind you, don't worry." He promised her, to which she could only smile. "Now, you gotta go, Kitten." He told her firmly, to which she nodded. She knew - he'd just be eating a little more, and then come running.

A moment later, she was nowhere to be seen in their little room. She was speeding down the hallways, running as fast as she dared through the winding halls. She could still feel Aizen and Gin in that meeting-room, now along with Ichigo and Orihime and some Arrancars as well.

She growled under her breath. That fucking bastard - she knew it wasn't just out of kindness he let her go to Earthland back then. Now she understood - it was to make sure he could go to that place himself, without the help of her. That's why he picked them up personally.

After all, he may have been able to go to Earthland, but it'd only be in that cave. From there, he'd have no clue where to go. Now he could go directly to Magnolia - one of the bigger cities in her world. Where he would easily be able to collect 100 souls. Goddammit. Fucking snake.

He'd let everyone else fight his battles for him - even leaving Tosen, Stark, Barragan and Harribel to fend off Genryusai and multiple Captains all by themselves. And probably a multitude of Lieutenants and otherwise strong members as well. It was hard to find anything even remotely redeemable about him right now..

She gritted her teeth as she kicked open the doors to the meeting room. Aizen and Gin stood casually up at the stage with their seats while Ichigo fought down Zommari and Orihime desperately faced both Loly and Menoly.

She didn't really give a damn about either of those two fights; her sole focus was the damned bastard standing up there, looking all high and mighty. Her gaze didn't drift the slightest from him either, though everyone else stopped to stare at her.

He, on the other hand, looked incredibly calm and nonchalant about her sudden presence. As if he had expected it to come. "Oh, Lucy. To what do we owe the pleasure?" He asked her. His voice was nothing if not patronizing as he looked down at her.

She didn't bother hiding the growl that rose in her throat at his comment. "Don't ask stupid questions, you fucking bastard!" She snarled as she rushed right at him. Before anyone could react, she had her fingers wound around his thin neck. Only to slip right through it. "What the hell?!" She screamed, looking at his now flickering form.

He grinned at her, flickering back to a clear version of himself. "Language like that really does not suit you, dear." He mocked her, not even about to explain what was going on.

He didn't need to either, she understood it. "The fucking illusion device…" She growled. That's what it was. He'd used Szayel's illusion device to create a distraction, so that it would seem to the rest of them things were going according to plan, the one that had been discussed at the meeting. And so that neither she nor Grimmjow suspected a thing about all of this. Dammit!

His grin only got wider and even more gleeful. "Correct! Szayelaporro agreed to this little trick of ours, stating he was curious to see whether anyone would be able to figure it out. Seems he was right about the fact that none of you could." He said, his smirk only growing with each word.

She glared at him, only getting more and more pissed with each word of his. Without any hesitation, she coated her fingers in the usual energy-created claws. "I'll kill you. Wherever the fuck you are." She snarled and slashed right through his form. It did him no damage, but it made the damn illusion disappear.

This shit meant he was at Earthland already. Which meant he could've killed a lot of damn people already. A lot of the people she loved.

Gin, who'd remained silent during all this finally turned to her. "Might wanna hurry a bit, y'know? He ain't waitin' fer nobody." He reminded her, then flickered out of existence as well. So he'd been an illusion as well. Of course…

So, at the very least, it looked like Gin was at Earthland with Aizen as well right now. So at the very least, he'd make sure to at least stall Aizen as much as he possibly could before letting him get that hundredth soul to complete his collection.

Her family still wasn't out in the safe-zone though.. Gin would only step in if he had the opportune moment - he wouldn't shy away from letting a few people die in the process. He wouldn't give a damn who had to die for him to finally be able to take that former Shinigami down.

Her thought-process halted when she felt pointy, cold steel poking into her back. "You.. You bitch…! How dare you treat Aizen-sama with such disrespect!" She heard a certain pigtailed fangirl yell from behind her.

Lucy slowly, robotically, turned her head, looking over her shoulder. She was _NOT_ in the mood for this little bitch's fucking obsession with that bastard right now.

With only one eye, the blonde glared at Loly with such hatred, a promise of murder and absolute torture was written all over her face. Having the dark look directed right at her made the girl take a trembling step back and away from her, fear written all over her face. Just by the blonde's presence right at that moment.

"If you dare stand in my way, Loly…" Lucy started out slowly, making sure the girl would understand _everything_ she was being told. "I will not hesitate to skin you alive, rip your fucking nails out of your fingers and those pretty pigtails right out of your skull, gouge out that pink eye of yours and then cut you into pieces, which I will thoroughly enjoy myself before I go and fucking kill Aizen as well." She promised the girl in a low growl. Never in her life had she had such a short fuse as she did in this very moment.

Loly gaped, completely frozen to the spot, the little dagger that was her zanpakuto trembling in her hand. Her eye was wide and tearing up in fear. She knew the blonde wasn't exaggerating the slightest.

With a last look at the fangirl, she turned to the other blonde one, who, at the sudden malicious attention, immediately stepped away from the human girl that had been her opponent and up against the far wall.

Zommari, however, did not back away from her anger. "What is the meaning of this, Lucy, the sexta Espada's Fracción?" He asked, making sure she knew she was not above him. He may not seem like it, but he was arrogant to all hell.

She turned her gaze to him slowly, her rage only rising with every second. "Exactly what it looks like, Zommari. Stay out of my way if you do not wish to die." She darkly warned him, not caring that both humans were scared shitless, unable to say anything in the face of her fury either.

Zommari, however, was not as clever. He frowned at her, turning around to point his own zanpakuto at her even. "I am afraid I cannot allow you to do any such thing. Aizen has done nothing to deserve a death by the hands of the likes of yourself. Surrender and cease this foolishness immediately." He ordered her.

For a moment, she could only stare at him. "If that is what you really believe-" A raging fire of fury flared to life inside of her, spurring her to move even faster than she had before. Her hand was buried deep in the Espada's chest, a firm grip around his currently beating heart. "Then you might as well die." She stated and squeezed the little organ until it exploded in her bare hand, coloring her entire torso and arm in the deep, red color of his blood.

She easily released him, pulling her arm out. He was dead long before he even hit the floor. Feeling not a single ounce of remorse at her own actions, she tore part of his long, white coat off and began wiping herself with it quickly. She couldn't get it all off, but it'd have to do.

The room was completely silent as she did so, staring at her completely in awe. After all, she had just effortlessly killed an Espada; someone who was supposed to be many times stronger than herself.

She sighed and threw it away, turning to the two humans. They flinched lightly under her gaze, but didn't move to do anything else. "You two go to Grimmjow, he will take you to Earthland with him. I might need your help in this." She said, turning around and letting her back face them. She didn't have any more time to spare right now.

As easily as had it been to open the Gates to her Spirits, she opened a Garganta in front of her, leading to her apartment. Once again, she felt the feeling of her world washing over her comfortably and familiarly. But there was a touch of something different. Something evil. Something Aizen.

"B-but L-Lucy, w-why.. Wh-what happened?" Orihime managed to stammer, right as Lucy was about to step through.

Lucy froze, then dropped her head and sighed, realizing the girl had the right to at least know what was going on. She looked at the both of them over her shoulder. "The people I love, Fairy Tail, my family are in danger. Aizen is out there right now, killing everyone just to make himself stronger." She grounded out through her teeth. "I will stop him no matter what it may take, but I may not be able to do it by myself…" She admitted, her gaze alternating between the both of them. "Can I count on your help? You understand this feeling, I'm sure." She asked them.

For a moment, none of them moved. But then Orihime nodded, a determined look on her face. "I.. I don't know wh-what I can do, b-but I'll help however I can!" She promised the blonde.

Ichigo, watching the fire forming in his ginger friend, turned to the blonde and gave her a single nod as well. "Just go find Grimmjow, right? He'll take us there?" He asked her.

Relief washed over her, but she wouldn't let it settle in too far. With what she was about to face, she'd need this anger of hers. She gave him a nod. "Yes, that's it." She confirmed, turning her gaze to the Garganta again, preparing to step through. She paused for a moment. "If you can, bring Rangiku as well. She will be needed." She said, then immediately stepped through the portal before any of the two could ask any more questions.

She immediately closed the portal behind her once she found herself in her apartment, where she had been just a few hours ago.

Though it hadn't been obvious from Hueco, she could feel it now. Aizen's evil infected the air like a corrosive poison. It felt nothing like the Magnolia she knew - so cold and silent.

She growled under her breath. He did not belong here. He was doing nothing but taint this place; her home. He needed to get out of here - and she'd be sure to take the trash with her.

She quickly jumped out on the street through her window and quickly made it out of her own street. She could feel his and Gin's reiatsu off towards the guild - it seemed like they were fighting, judging by the flaring of their reiatsu.

She wanted to rush right there and bring the damn bastard down, but the sight before her on the main street had her rooted to the spot, staring at everything before her. The street was dead silent - not even the wind seemed to move here. And… As far as her eyes reached, people were lying flat on the ground.

Her breath caught in her throat. No… This couldn't be true… He didn't already… She rushed right to the closest person, crouching down next to him in something near panic. She reached down and put her index and middle-finger to his throat, searching for his pulse.

But there was nothing.

With a stinging sensation behind her eyes, she rushed to the next person on the other side of the street. A child, a young girl with her mother, her eyes wide in absolute terror. She reached out to them both.

Nothing.

Something between a sob and a gasp wracked trough her at the reality of this situation before her. Every single person here was dead… Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons… Shop-owners, simple workers… Everyone.

She gently pushed the little girl's eyes closed, but not even that could erase the forever terrified look engraved on her face. The last moment's these people had had… She could never forgive him for this. He deserved only death for his sins.

With tears blurring her sight, she stood up and faced towards the guild, she glared right at him and through any building that may be between them. She would kill him so fucking thoroughly she'd avenge every single person that bastard had ever killed.

She sprang off with a burst of the sonido, headed straight for her old home.

* * *

Gin gritted his teeth, pushing against his blade, which was clashing with Aizen's. Aizen had slowly been whittling him down over time, rather than simply ending it immediately, just to make it clear who was strongest, though they both knew exactly who that was.

He'd even dragged it out to the point of it being easy for him to fight against the silver-haired Shinigami's zanpakuto like this.

Aizen looked down at Gin with a sort of calm smile about him. "You know, I always expected you would do something like this at some point. I never quite understood why you would follow me so loyally, even to the point of pushing your childhood sweetheart away so coolly." He commented, making sure to pour as much salt as he possibly could into any and all wounds he could find - and those were many with this long battle of theirs. "It makes a lot more sense now, of course." He continued.

Gin knew that guy was just ranting at this point, trying to whittle down his mind as well as his body at the same time. This was how he always played - playing around with his opponents until they had neither spirit nor strength to continue fighting. It was his favorite game.

Which was why Gin wouldn't say a single thing; he just continued to smile as he always did.

Seeing that he wouldn't get any vocal reaction out of the other former Shinigami, Aizen elected to continue his tormenting. "'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer still'. It is indeed a formidable way to do things, however it is one of the hardest to withhold. But I'm sure you know that already, do you not?" He asked, the knowing look never leaving his face for even a moment. "Having to leave your loved ones behind for the sake of this enemy - it is quite a backwards way of doing things, I would say."

While Aizen distracted himself with his talking, Gin quickly broke away and angled his sword to point right at the other guy. With a push of his reiatsu, the zanpakuto shot forward at speeds no one should be able to dodge.

Yet, Aizen did just that without so much as a scratch. He even casually continued his monologue as he hit the zanpakuto out of Gin's hand with a flick of his wrist. The thin blade flew far, before being lodged in a house to the far right. "I will say though, you have been patient. This was truly the most opportune moment you would get; while I was distracted by dealing with this rag-tag group of people, deciding who my last two souls should be. I applaud you for that, at least." He said.

Indeed… They had walked all the way through this hometown of Lucy's. Every person without any notable amounts of 'magic' they had passed in the previously busy streets had fallen dead in a single second simply by Aizen's presence. Aizen's presence, which had absorbed the Hogyoku itself. He had collected 98 souls already; only two were left and his transformation would be complete.

Aizen smirked as the end of their battle neared. "However, it does seem it was all for naught either way." He said, triumph already shining in his eyes. "You do not have the power to defeat me, Gin. Not even at a time like this."

Gin couldn't help smiling a little at that. So he thought he wasn't already aware of something like that? "Obviously." He simply replied, not twitching even as he felt a faint presence appearing in this world. Help was on the way, it would seem. Well, if nothing else, he had worn Aizen down some.

The man himself didn't seem to notice the sudden appearance - he didn't acknowledge it at least. Instead, he spun around and planted his foot right in Gin's solar plexus.

Unprepared and completely worn out, the silver haired guy could do nothing to avoid the hit and fell straight back on his ass.

He looked up and grinned when the thin sword's point gently pressed against his throat under his chin. "Any last words?" Aizen asked, apparently finally prepared to end it all.

Gin opened his eyes, looking right up at the man he had followed around like a loyal dog for so long. "Yer'll regret ever choosin' this place ta go an' get yer souls." He simply said. The fury he felt rapidly building at the main street they'd left not too long ago wasn't anything to sneeze at, that was for sure. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that.

Before Aizen could do anything more, one of the more idiotic friends of Lucy's sprang forward. "What are you doing?! You can't just up and kill someone like that!" A pink-haired guy of some sort yelled at Aizen, flames sprouting to life behind him.

Well, this person sure had no clue who the hell he was facing.

Aizen slowly turned to the guy, an immensely amused look growing on his face. "Oh? And why is that? - because everyone deserves a second chance?" He asked, almost laughing as he spoke.

The guy frowned, as if Aizen'd hit the bullseye. "Yes, they do." He said with conviction, his arms crossed. He actually thought he was getting somewhere with this. "And just think about the ones he'll be leaving behind!" He then added.

Aizen paused for a moment, clearly amused by this guy's childish naivety. "The ones he'll be leaving behind, you say?" He slowly repeated mockingly.

Gin huffed in laughter, looking up at the guy, who looked so absolutely sure of himself. Was this world really so bright even these guys weren't dealing with death? "Ain't got none o' those." He said, watching as the guy's expression immediately deflated, while the others looked like they'd drop their jaws anytime at the fact he'd bash the argument so easily.

With a sigh and a light shake of his head, Aizen put his focus back on Gin, who'd remained on the ground dutifully. Looked like just enough time had been stalled. He watched as the other former Shinigami's eyes widened just a bit in surprise.

"Don't count on that." A light, yet dark female voice said, quite high reiatsu-levels waving off of her dangerously.

A slow smile spread on Aizen's face as he easily recognized her presence. "Ah, Lucy. I was wondering when you would be showing up." He calmly said, not even turning his face to look at the woman.

She glared right at the back of his head, her whip released and the hard tip of it pressing into his back. Looked like she could harden it to the point of acting like a sword of sorts with her magic and reiatsu. "Back the fuck away from him, Aizen. And don't even think about trying anything, you bastard." She snarled at him, her new, released look consisting of blackness covering her legs and chest, leaving part of her stomach bare. Over her shoulders were a pair of bone-like things, as if to keep the top hanging where it should. Behind her, her tail - an exact replica of her whip - swished behind her and her now longer hair.

The dark look reflected the look in her eyes perfectly as she glared at the brown-haired guy with an anger Gin was pretty sure he'd never seen in her before.

Even her friends seemed to blanch and break out in a cold sweat at the look of her. "Demon Lucy…" The guy who'd just yelled at Aizen lowly muttered, backing away again. Truly, with the way one of her arms was entirely covered by blood, that wasn't much of a stretch.

Even Aizen actually withdrew his zanpakuto from Gin's throat and stepped a little away, much to Gin's awe. "Please don't kill me." He mockingly said, raising his hands in surrender, an amused smirk on his face.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, never dropping her own whip, pointing at him still even as he made fun of her. "You are going to pay for everything you put us through. For every person you have killed…!" She hissed at him, unfurling the zanpakuto and whipping it into the ground with a snap.

Aizen only grinned wider, swinging his katana around. "Then, let us begin."

* * *

 **Yeah.. I know; short chapter. All this was important though and needed to be done. It wouldn't really mix well with what I'd planned for next time either, and just stuffing it with.. stuff... would also be wrong. But, well, there you go~**

 **Once again, we saw that badass side of Lucy. And also the surprisingly cold blooded side of herself.**

 **Of course, next chapter, the great and long-awaited battle between Aizen and Lucy will begin... Look forward to it, you guys!**

 **Aaaand, yeah. Hopefully not as surprisingly, we are also approaching the end. As it looks right now, there wil actually only be 6 chapters to go through, before it all reaches its conclusion. So yeah. There's that.**

 **Either way, thanks a bunch to all who has read, is following, favorited and commented my story! I love you all to bits and pieces!**

 **~ Line464d**


	28. Chapter 28 - The Battle Begins

**Chapter 28 - The Battle Begins**

 **I just wanted to thank you all for all the comments and support the last few chapters, it's been awesome! I know I absolutely suck at replying to comments and the like, but just know I read every** _ **single**_ **one of them. Several times sometimes too. So yeah.. It really makes me happy and keeps me going!**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and review!  
Disclaimer: Nope, Fairy Tail and Bleach go to Hiro Mashima and Tite Kubo. Can't take the credit for that. **

* * *

A blaze of flames erupted at Lucy's right - the unmistakable heat letting her know exactly who it was - not that she hadn't expected this to happen sooner or later. "Natsu! Don't come any closer!" She yelled at the one she'd called her best friend.

The flames only got even angrier and bigger around him, his slitted gaze directed solely at Aizen, who was extremely calm about this whole situation. "I won't let you face this guy alone, Luce! I'll beat him up!" He yelled back at her with a steady voice. Still now - or perhaps especially now - he really couldn't let go of his protectiveness of her, huh?

Still, the thought of having him face this Aizen scared her out of her mind. "NO!" She yelled back, a burst of magic pushing him back forcefully. This was not the same as back when he'd fought this guy last. She wouldn't let any of them get involved in this fight - they weren't suited for this kind of person at all.

"But Luce.." Natsu tried to protest getting himself ready to fight again despite her orders.

She gritted her teeth, taking her gaze off Aizen's face for just a moment. "I'll be fine." She promised the Dragon Slayer hurriedly, turning to the Rune mage, who'd luckily returned from his mission. "Freed, your strongest!" She ordered, just barely catching the wide-eyed nod.

Aizen quickly took advantage of the welcome distraction, hitting her non-too-gently in the chest, sending her flying back in front of them all. Of course, the hit had only been for show, really, so she easily regained her composure again.

Panting in both anger and surprise she returned the glare to the man before her. "You damn bastard." She growled. To think even a man like him would sink to such a pathetic level he would only attack once she was busy making sure everyone was safe. So dishonorable, it was disgusting.

He simply smirked back, a single brow raised cockily. "Well, you could have just paid attention, could you not? If I do not remember all wrong, you started this little scuffle of ours." He shot back.

She narrowed her eyes at him incredulously. Was he really going to start the 'who started' argument right now? He killed her, so he was ultimately at fault here.

She growled under her breath. She wanted to tell him that, but knew that was what he was fishing for. "I won't let it happen again." She reassured him.

It was only just now she noticed, but it looked like he'd undergone at least some sort of transformation. His reiatsu felt different, somehow… But maybe that was just what killing so many people and absorbing their souls did to you. Damn bastard could only be short a few lives by now. Luckily, it seemed she'd made it in time to save everyone from Fairy Tail. If nothing else, there was that.

He smiled brightly at her comment. A moment later, their zanpakuto were clashing between them. "That sounds good." He said lowly, to which she could feel shivers run down even her tail. God damn it, he was disgusting.

She gritted her teeth at the pressure she was facing against, glaring fiercely right into his eyes. With a burst of whatever force she could muster in her muscles, she managed to physically push him back a single step. The distance allowed her to spin and send a kick right towards his face.

Her movement was halted completely when a firm grip around her ankle prevented her from even budging any further. He was looking at her, challenge written all over his face. 'You can do better than this, can't you?' was what he was silently asking her.

His silence only spurred her inner flames to burn even brighter in her anger. Like hell she'd just let him stand there and patronize her like this…!

She growled as she tore her leg out of his grasp forcefully, the momentum making her continue the pirouette she'd been doing before. She quickly lashed out at him with her tail, letting it scrape down the length of his arm, easily drawing thick lines of the crimson blood flowing out of him.

But despite the fact that it must have hurt some, he didn't even flinch the slightest. He simply smiled as if he'd been thinking of something funny.

She glared at him, her tail swishing rapidly behind her. "Wipe that damn smirk off you ugly, fucking mug and take this fight seriously, already." She snarled at him, not up for whatever games he was undoubtedly cooking up right now.

The smile only got wider at the comment. "Oh, sorry about that. This situation just amuses me so." He 'apologized' without even a bit of sincerity behind it. He continued head-first into the start of a monologue. "You know, how you all act exactly the way I predicted you would."

Not feeling the need to listen to him stroking his own ego any further - or to the mind-games he was preparing - she crouched down, snapping the whip at her side.

Lashing it out at him, she watched as he readily caught it with his bare hand - what she had been aiming for him to do. She knew him too well by now to expect or even hope he would let his guard down in front of enemies. He was already alert to everything around him; he always was.

Using the steady grip he had on it, she pulled herself closer to him, aiding her speed with a push of the sonido. She released a cry as she lifted her other hand, clawed by the mix of her energies and ready to strike him down.

But even at this speed, he could follow her movements as if she was a child. With a tug on the whip, he drew her closer even faster, making her crash with the fist he held out in the height of her stomach.

She curled around his fist, struggling to breathe as any semblance of air had completely abandoned her without a trace. It felt like she had completely dried up on the inside, sending a burning sensation wrecking through her mercilessly.

She could faintly hear a sigh above her. "It is such a shame though. I really liked you, Lucy, I will have you know." He told her, stepping back to allow her to topple over and fall to her knees in front of him. "You have so much spirit; you wouldn't simply break and do as I wanted you to, as everyone else did." He said almost dreamily as she stared at the ground, fighting against the darkness she felt was approaching from the back of her eyes.

No. She couldn't let herself pass out right now - she couldn't let this fight be lost so soon. And she couldn't let this bastard continue spewing absolute shit in front of everyone like this - he'd just go and say things he shouldn't at some point.

Yet, she hadn't gotten her bearings back, so she could do nothing but let him run his mouth still. "You are strong - much stronger than many of your fellow Fracción. Why, I think you might be at the level of the Espada, even." He said, then held a thoughtful pause as her breathing gradually returned to normal again and her vision returned properly. "Actually, I am pretty certain that you would surpass at least Aaroniero and Szayelaporro in terms of fighting strength." He then stated, making her look up at him, confused.

Was he really trying to win her over through flattery? Surely he would know by now that something like that would never work on her. It hadn't before, and it wouldn't now.

"No doubt Grimmjow's work." He said from above her. She growled under her breath and managed to get back to her feet, the worst of the dizziness gone. "Oh, and that loyalty!" He loudly exclaimed as he saw the fire burning behind her eyes once again, spreading his arms out from himself in a grand gesture.

To her, it only made him look all the more like the target he was.

She crouched down low and charged right at him a fierce snarl rumbling past her lips. Right before she crashed right into him, she jumped up and above him. Using the force she got from spinning around mid-air, she lashed out at him with the whip.

Without even turning, he raised his zanpakuto and easily blocked her attempt. "Oh, that loyalty." He repeated, the cocky smile as apparent on his face as it was in his voice.

She viciously pulled the whip back again, instead rushing at him herself, claws once again extending from her fingers. He was making fun of her again, the damn bastard. Ridiculing her in front of all of them.

She drew the whip again, preparing to strike at him again as he turned around to face her, the same, confident expression still in place. It only pissed her off even more.

However, no matter what she threw at him, he either dodged, blocked or deflected. She couldn't land a single hit on this bastard right now, even as he continued his speech. "So unwavering and unbreakable once it is there. Any you deem worthy of it, you will lay down your life for without a moment's hesitation, should it be necessary." He rambled on, making her uncomfortable with how detailed he was being. Just how perceptive was this bastard? "How I wish I could be one of those chosen few - given such unconditional loyalty." He said with a sigh, as if talking about a long lost love.

"For starters, you could try not killing my family." She ground out between clenched teeth. Fucking bastard was being unbelievably creepy over there right now. And just as damn annoying to listen to.

He smiled brightly at her. "I cannot do that, I am afraid." He revealed with a light shrug. "After all, the Shinigami - or anyone else that matter - will not be able to stop me here. I can collect all the souls I wish for without noteworthy intervention. It is the perfect place to carry out my transformation - the souls are so strong here!" He announced with an excited laugh.

Damn bastard was proud of what he'd done..!

In her rage, she recklessly lunged for him, lashing at him wildly with claws, whip and tail. Desperate to land a solid hit or two on him. But even with this, all she managed to do was scratch him. Just barely draw blood. How could he be so powerful?

He continued on as if fighting her like this really didn't require all that much attention either way. "I almost had it though, did I not? Your loyalty, I mean." He thoughtfully commented.

She jumped back, glaring at him. "Do you ever shut the fuck up?" She rhetorically asked, knowing he wouldn't even consider it without having to ask. But it might be able to serve as some kind of distraction while she thought up some way to beat this man.

He completely ignored her question and simply kept up his rambling. "Perhaps I lost it because I did not make my 'tragic background' quite tragic enough to fully draw your sympathies. Maybe it would have been better if it was more alike your own. Or perhaps I simply did not act out on it often enough, as to make it seem as if I was still suffering." He thoughtfully thought out loud, paying no mind to the growing anger right in front of him.

"You fucking asshole." She hissed, her reiatsu and magic flaring up in response to her anger. "How the hell can you just straight up lie about shit like that?!" She asked him. How could you cry so vulnerably like that at a story that was made up? How were those seemingly genuine expressions he showed her back then fake? How was it possible?

He looked at her slyly, his true, mean-spirited, sadistic, down-right evil personality showing in his eyes. It was the first time she'd been confronted with the intensity of it like this - it forced her to step back in surprise.

"Oh, Lucy, my dear." He cooed, almost as if talking to a little child. "There is not a thing in this world I would not do if it gives me an advantage." He told her calmly, despite his sinister words. "Or - in this case - to have a little fun." He then said with a frightening smile on his lips.

This man… This man did _not_ deserve to live any longer than he had. Who knew what he'd already done for the sake of 'fun'? Killed. Maimed. Tortured. Brainwashed. Destroyed. Manipulated. Betrayed. There was no end to all the evil deeds he'd done - most likely without even blinking at all.

She had to stop him somehow. And she had to do it as fast as she possibly could.

Once again, she lunged at him, a new, little plan hatched in her head. However, he didn't do anything at all even as her energy-created claws were a mere inch from him. No, rather, they sliced right through him. As if he was simply butter.

This couldn't be right.. The Aizen she'd cut into stripes just now couldn't have been the right one. He wouldn't die so easily, without any resistance.

She frowned, a growl escaping her. Damn him. He was manipulating her senses. "You coward! Come and fight me instead of these ridiculous tricks!" She yelled, looking around to find the real him. He was nowhere to be seen though…. Damn his shikai-ability.

A laugh echoed through the air, dark and dangerous. "I figured you wouldn't fall for this as readily as everyone else." He said, having her whirl around looking for him. "You are too smart to truly be deceived by something like this." He added, kind of sounding like he respected that. But she knew better than to trust something like that.

Annoyed by his continued rambling, she glared at the air around her. "Get out from wherever you're hiding, Aizen!" She yelled at him, though she wasn't even sure she was facing his way at all.

Another laugh filled the air. "Smart as you may be, you will never be able to break out of my illusions unless I will it so." He amusedly told her.

She raised a brow, a cocky smile of her own spreading on her lips. "Oh so that's what you think?" She asked just barely loud enough for him to could hear it. Instead of trying to search for him, she would pull him right out of wherever he was hiding himself.

She closed her eyes, making her magic roll around in her, ready to be used. Then she sent it out with a burst, spreading out in a wave with her as the center. Everywhere the golden light touched returned to what it was supposed to be - revealing the former Shinigami's hiding place.

She calmly turned to him, her eyes locking with his and so letting him know she knew exactly where he was. And that she'd broken right through his illusion as easily as that.

She could hear Fairy Tail yelling at her that she was looking straight at him from where they stood. So that bastard had only let his own voice break through to her, had he? Ass.

For a moment said ass was completely speechless, simply staring at her with slightly wide eyes. Then, he laughed. "Even though I've had all this planned out since the day I turned you and Grimmjow, you can still manage to surprise me. I am impressed." He declared, a strangely satisfied smile on his lips.

She looked right back at him, slightly crouched and ready for whatever he'd throw at her. "I don't give a rat's ass about how you feel, you bastard." She growled at him. She couldn't care less about what he had to say - everything was likely lies with him anyway.

"That language again - we will have to work on that, you know." He said, a knowing look flashing in his eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll kill you before you'll ever get the fucking chance..!" She told him off. Like hell she would let him treat her like a little, damn child.

He smirked. "We will see about that." He slowly said, bringing his zanpakuto up to catch her attention. "However, first we will have to see how long you can keep this up." He said, then disappeared behind his illusion.

She growled a sigh under her breath, already annoyed with this game. "As long as it damn well takes." She ground out, gathering her magic once again, preparing to break the illusions he'd create.

If nothing else, it looked like her backup had arrived as well.

* * *

Fucking hell. Why did that woman have to create an entire, damn army of 'friends' wherever she went? Now he had to drag these three with him to that place.

Well, but the backup was nice to have though. And she'd chosen these idiots for a reason. Even that hysteric Shinigami-woman.

Tired of her constant complaints and protests - and Harribel's three Fracción's, which she'd been fighting just now - he roughly grabbed her neck. "I don't give a shit. We're going." He grunted, quickly creating a Garganta straight to that guild hall and stepped through it with her in tow. As soon as the two humans had gone through it as well, he closed it up behind him, making sure none of the others retards could make it through.

The previously filled and fairly lively room was eerily empty now. However it took only a fraction of a second for him to realize they were all right outside. With Lucy, the bastard and the snake. Looked like they were late to the party.

He threw the Shinigami-woman to the floor, easily stepped over her and silently strode right ahead to the action he knew he'd find on the other side of those doors.

He could hear the three of them being at awe at the place they were in - just as he'd pretty much been when he came here earlier. It was way different from either of the three worlds they knew - it was bright and lively, completely void of the darkness they knew from their own.

Though, even he could tell the atmosphere here was different now than it had been earlier. The slight buzz of life in the air was pretty much gone - replaced by Aizen's own, dark presence.

He went through the doors and took in the sight in front of him. Fairy Tail was first in his line of sight. A few new people had joined in - Laxus and his fan-club if he remembered correctly - and they were all covered in some sort of barrier. It was a solid one, he had to admit, but the user's uncertainty shone in it. Little by little, reiatsu seemed to seep in through to them. How bad that was, he wasn't sure. It was only one-way though. No one could get in, but they could all get out.

None of them even noticed him though, as they were all facing right ahead, focusing on the three outsiders in front of them. Gin looked absolutely beaten up. By Aizen, probably. He was literally worth nothing. Like this, he couldn't even protect himself. He had managed to crawl away from the main event a bit though, out of the range of the crossfire.

Speaking of the main even, Lucy stood stock-still in the middle of their temporary arena, her eyes closed in concentration. Small bursts of magic seemed to make the world around her flicker and waver. Images of Aizen appeared and disappeared with these burst, seemingly at random.

Grimmjow growled under his breath as he slowly approached where the group of mages was standing. "Fucking bastard is wearing her down with his damn illusions." He grumbled, his arms crossed as he watched her pounce on said bastard with a fury rarely seen in her.

Many heads suddenly whipped to him, surprised by his sudden appearance. "You!" The flame-brain yelled loudly, having clearly forgotten his name.

The only reason Grimmjow could remember his though was because of Lucy's endless stories. Right now, he looked just about ready to suggest something completely retarded.

His fists ablaze, the idiot smacked them together with a fiercely determined expression on his face. "Come on! We have to help Lucy beat this guy!" He said, already preparing to race right out there and join the fray with his favorite, idiotic catch-phrase.

Grimmjow quickly acted, stepping in front of the guy and blocking his path before he could get anywhere. "Don't you even think about stopping out of this fucking barrier, Dragneel." He growled at the pink-haired mage. Why was he surprised this idiot still didn't understand the situation?

The Dragon Slayer - along with others - turned to him with a deep frown. "But… She can't beat this guy alone. She'll… Get killed again." He tried to argue - a fair point. It was true, as was right now, she wouldn't winthis. Aizen was only playing around with her. "We have to protect her!" He then added.

Grimmjow froze on the spot, slowly turning to glare at the guy over his shoulder. "Sit you fucking ass _down._ " He snapped, pronouncing the words clear as crystal.

Looking at their faces, it was clear he was letting some of the darkness of his own world slip through in his eyes. But this fucking retard…

The pink-haired idiot physically took a step back, his eyes wide. He said nothing, simply staring at Grimmjow as if he was looking at a demon. Not too far off.

The Espada halfway turned to him jabbing a finger right at him. "I want you to take a real good look at Lucy out there." He ordered, pointing to her instead. "I want you to use those damn dragon-senses of yours for once and feel how fucking strong she is right now." He growled, his gaze never leaving the mage.

He was so fucking sick and tired of having to listen to this guy treating his little kitten like she was a weak, little damsel in distress. The little kitten had very sharp claws. It was so damn detrimental to everything she'd already achieved through both her and his hard work.

Meanwhile, all that idiot could do was stare dumbly at the Arrancar. So, he continued. "She's out there, busting her ass off and risking her own life to save yours, and you can't even give her the damn credit!" He basically almost yelled at him. Or them, rather, because they were all guilty of it. "She's even saved my life several times. Earlier today she did it." He said, meeting the guy's eyes for a moment, then brushing over all of them. "It should be obvious to you already. As she is right now, she is leagues above anything you people will ever be." He ground out, looking back at her again. Still struggling with that bastard of a boss. "She's not the Lucy you all had to protect all the time."

It seemed like the flame-brain wanted to protest against what he'd just been told, but then some strange guy with a visor butted his head in. "You should listen to this guy, man. She really doesn't need any of her to protect her from anything." He said, his voice trembling somewhat. He looked a bit shaken, actually. Kinda pale. "I'm telling you, if any of you could feel what I'm feeling from these guys…" She trailed off, his point made clear as he quickly glanced at Grimmjow and looked away again.

Oh. This guy had to be that necromancer-type guy she'd told him about. He could probably clearly feel their true natures in a way the others couldn't. No fucking wonder he was shaken and pale, then. Unfortunately for that guy, none of them were even close to done.

Grimmjow grunted, his work done with those people. They had something to chew on now - and they damn better chew on it properly.

It was only just then the other three he'd brought with him stepped out into the light of day, the women especially captivated by the new world and surroundings still. The carrot was the only one who realized they had more pressing matters right now.

With his gaze right at the two duking it out ahead of him, the carrot hurried forward with long strides. "All right, let's go and do what we came here to do." He declared, already drawing his big-ass zanpakuto.

Just as the human was about to pass him, Grimmjow reached out and pulled him down to his ass with a firm grip on his collar. "I swear to fucking god, you two have got to be the same, damn person." He growled under his breath. He had to do this shit again, now?

The human looked up at him with a scowl. "What the hell was that for?!" He asked, mostly surprised if anything. And confused.

Grimmjow sighed. He was surrounded by idiots. "This guy is Lucy's kill, you dumbass." He told him. They were only here if things went so far south she wouldn't be able to get it done by herself. "If you try to jump in and steal the spotlight now, she'll tear you to pieces." He warned the human.

She had a pretty fucking big score to settle with that bastard. Even though Grimmjow had his own reasons to want to slap that guy around, even he knew they couldn't even come close to comparing with hers. And if he had to guess from how she looked right now, she wouldn't take kindly to interruptions.

At least, the human clearly understood he shouldn't do anything just yet, so he settled with simply standing and watching with rapt attention, so he wouldn't miss his own time to shine.

If nothing else, Grimmjow could relate to that itchy need to enter the fight. He definitely wanted to twist that bastard's neck himself.

The human girl appeared on the other side of the carrot, folding her hands in front of her and looking at the blonde ahead with a crease on her forehead. "Is… Is she really going to be okay..?" She slowly asked, her voice kept fairly low. "She felt stronger b-back in the throne room earlier…" She added.

Grimmjow sighed. Yeah, he'd felt that. She was absolutely furious back then. Still though, he didn't worry too much. "Don't worry, girl. Kitten's not done with that fucker yet. Not even close." He promised them, a grin spreading on his face. "Just wait and see till that bastard starts threatening those people." He said, jabbing a thumb towards the clutter of people in the barrier, who were also listening closely to what he was saying.

The girl looked to him, confused. "What… What do you mean?" She asked him with her usual stuttering.

"Demon Lucy." The Fire Dragon Slayer shuddered.

Grimmjow grinned and nodded. Yeah, he'd heard that dark side of hesr wasn't exactly a new thing. "Yup. She truly lives on her dark side when that happens." He said with a laugh as he remembered the first time he met that side of her - during a training session, where he'd been trying to rile her up some. Worked a bit too well; he'd never done it since. She'd been Aizen-level evil.

Any calm and silence, which had been between them for that short moment instantly vanished as the Shinigami-woman went rushing right past them. "GIN!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. At least she wasn't trying to pull the same shit as those two idiots, but… Surely she wasn't here just for the sake of that snake?

"Who the hell are all these people…?" Someone grumbled from inside the barrier. The guy, with short, black hair and dark eyes turned to Grimmjow. Not only himself, but the people around him were completely unaffected even though he was naked waist-up. "Hey, Grimmjow." He called out, at least knowing his name. "I get we can do squat in this fight, but can we at least know what the hell is going on here?" He gruffly asked. The Ice-mage, huh?

Unexpectedly, Grimmjow wasn't the one to answer that request. "What a grand suggestion, Gray - is it?" Aizen asked, cutting his own illusion short and appeared not too far from them. Or that was how it seemed, anyway. "Indeed, I do believe you all are deserving of some back-story, so let me tell you." He said with a way, _way_ too sly smirk.

Grimmjow immediately knew what the bastard was thinking of, turning and scanning his eyes over the mages. "Whoever made this barrier; make sure none of you can get out of that shit. Right now!" He ordered them loudly.

This shit would go to all hell now.

* * *

Lucy glared at Aizen, already knowing what he was planning to do. She was glad she had Grimmjow though, because yes, someone was going to try to break through and out with what they were about to learn.

The former Shinigami had basically turned his back to her, instead facing her family. He was entirely on guard though - she could see it in his shoulders. "You may not be aware of this, however we have… Met before, Team Natsu." He said, once again proving he'd gone through and read every single one of her memories back when he took them from her. He'd known she knew everything back then. He knew it all.

What was his plan with telling them this now, though? What could he possibly gain from this? - she didn't mind if they knew, it would change nothing for her in this situation.

Yet, that smile of his proved he definitely had something planned with this. "Naturally, I did not look like this back then." He said amusedly, swinging his zanpakuto around pointedly as he readied his reiatsu for what he was about to have it do. "This is how our dear Lucy should remember me." He said, his reiatsu changing his appearance in an instant.

Before them stood the image of the person she'd initially thought had killed her - Gin in his old Shinigami Captain clothing and the thin smile on his eerie face.

Despite seeing him disappear just now, the fact that he was able to 'transform' as well seemed to surprise them. Yes, he was very creative in the way he used his illusions - almost making it seem like he had various different abilities rather than just that one to those that didn't know him.

She narrowed her eyes at him, struggling to figure out what was going through his crazy head. She just couldn't figure out what he was thinking right now.

His smile never even faltered as he spoke. "The three of you - no, four, isn't it? - would not recognize me like this though." He said, pouting just a little. "Rather, you should recognize this form of mine." He said, making sure the change was dramatically slow this time around.

As she'd expected, he now stood in front of them as his old self - his hair curly and brown, hanging over his eyes, which were covered by glasses, rather than slicked back. As was, he actually looked nice at a first glance. But there was something ominous even behind that smile.

For a moment, there was completely silent. Then Natsu hammered his fist into the walls of the barrier, which was now keeping him locked in as well. "You…!" He growled dangerously, the single, most hateful glare she'd ever seen adorning his face directed at Aizen. "You bastard!" This was the man he'd been searching for for over a year, and he couldn't even get to him… The frustration was understandable.

Of course, none of the others outside of Team Natsu could recognize him either way. Mira was the first to ask the question they all wanted answered. "What's g-"

"He's the one who killed her." Gray bitterly stated, cutting the barmaid off without any sort of hesitation. Though he may have seemed calm, Lucy could see the blizzard raging in him right now. He wanted to get out of there and have a go at Aizen.

As did Natsu, who showed no regard for any of the others as he lit himself on fire, trying to pummel the barrier into submission, so he could escape. "Let me out of this barrier! I'll kill that bastard myself!" He screamed, but even Freed was too shocked by the turn of events to really act on his order.

Had she looked at Grimmjow, Lucy would've seen him roll his eyes at the Fire Dragon Slayer. But she didn't, she was staring straight at the man, who had revealed himself to be her killer.

He was smiling even wider now, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Indeed! I am the one who plunged this very sword into her heart a little over a year ago." He bragged out loud, showing the zanpakuto off. The confirmation from him as well made the fact settle in their minds as equal amounts of rage, fear and confusion rose from them all. "I killed her."

She frowned. What the hell was he up to? Why was he riling them all up like this? It made no sense…

"However." He spoke up again, his smile most definitely a smirk now. "This is enough of my secrets, I should think." He stated, slowly turning to her. She now knew exactly what that bastard was up to. "How about we show them some of yours instead?" He suggested.

She growled deeply. "Aizen..!" She warned him. How dare he do this?!

Before she could do or say anything else, she found herself down on all fours the way she had once been so long ago. He'd reverted her back to her Adjuchas form. But.. This wasn't his real goal; not even close.

He looked at her calmly, not even flinching at the sight of her glare. "This was how she looked back when I recruited her several months ago." He explained, feigning an expression of dissatisfaction. He wasn't getting any wild reactions from any of them either. "Though.. I imagine this was how she'd more often look like back then." He thoughtfully commented.

The gasps of horror and surprise from her family told her whatever he did, he had already done. She hardly even had to look- his ability to manipulate all of her senses made it clear to her. She was covered in blood - and it obviously wasn't her own. On her claws, tail and splattered down her belly. But what was worse was the fact that it was dripping freshly from her mouth as well. She could almost taste the sweet bitterness of it, even though it was far from real.

He didn't have to explain the premise or context of her current appearance - it explained itself a little too well. She hadn't wanted them to know any of this - the silence that erupted from them only confirmed why - but if they had to know, it should not have been like this…!

She growled at him, honestly pissed with him now. "Aizen, you damn bastard! I'll fucking kill you for this!" She yelled, lunging right at him as naturally as had she been in this form her entire life.

But, once again, she simply passed right through him - another illusion of his. "Oh, dear. Be a little patient. I am not quite done yet; there is still more for them to now." His voice echoed in the air. A moment later, his original form appeared behind her, on the opposite side of Fairy Tail. "Now, wouldn't you agree?" He asked with his smirk.

She snarled at him, anger and fear pulsating through her at insane speeds. "Don't you even dare thinking about it!" She screamed almost hysterically as she pounced on him again, claws bared.

However, it was already too late.

A distinct 'shit' could be heard, followed by an absolutely terrified shriek. The one which Lucy had hoped she'd never have to hear again; Levy's.

She froze on the spot, looking down at her bulky form. She had reverted to her first Hollow-form. The one, which had killed so many people she held so dear. The one she'd never wanted them to know of.

With a cry, her golden magic exploded out to all sides, completely shattering the illusion he'd created. But that, too, was far too late.

Slowly, she dared to glance in the direction of the people she called her family. Something she shouldn't have done.

They were all looking at her with wide, scared and disbelieving eyes. Confused, angry, frightened, incredulous… So may negative emotions. But worst of all was a certain Script mage's. She was absolutely petrified in fear of her. Her best friend was terrified of her. Looking at her as if she was a monster.

Not able to take their looks any longer than that, she turned her back to them, tears already blurring her sight. Why did this have to happen to her? Why was he so out to get her, shattering every single piece of her broken heart?

Aizen laughed, completely ecstatic with the current situation. "There you have it! Your precious Lucy was the one responsible for all those killings!" He said, hailing her down with arrows through his words. But it was nothing compared to what his next words caused her. "Araña, Risley and Beth. Cheria and Sherry. Ichiya, Nichiya, Ren, Eve and Hibiki. Rufus and Yukino." He listed them up, each name another jab at her heart. But the worst was yet to come. "And, of course, your own Jet and Droy." He finished.

She clenched her eyes shut, shaking her head furiously. No, she didn't want to hear it. Any of it! Why did he do this to her? Why was he trying to destroy her completely like this? Why? Didn't he understand she wasn't really the one who killed all of them? She couldn't kill anyone…!

"Kitten!" She faintly heard Grimmjow call out to her. She looked up just in time to see the big hand approaching her quickly.

She could do absolutely nothing as a firm grip around her throat pulled her into the air, making her eyes tear up even more at the lack of air. She desperately began clawing at the hand, but she couldn't get a proper grip on it.

A low sigh escaped her opponent. "I searched for an alternative to this, I will have you know." He coolly told her, his low voice the only thing she could hear as she struggled. "It was no lie when I said I liked you; you remind me of myself when I was young. Spirited, intelligent and unbelievably naïve." He slowly told her, sounding regretful - in her current situation, she couldn't tell if it was real or fake. "However, none of them made any sense - this is the only way." He then told her, his tone of voice growing colder with every word, even as her sight slowly dotted with darkness, her lungs burning. "And you have one, fatal weakness, which would inevitably doom you someday - your softness." He told her, something she already knew. "This is why I have no use for you any more - you are only in my way." He sharply told her.

Her vision was almost all black when she felt the grip lessen and she fell to the ground, landing roughly on the ground. But she was still alive.

He completely ignored her as she gasped and wheezed on the ground, instead looking at the mages ahead. "Two more souls, and I will be done." He stated, his gaze brushing over each of them, until it landed on one in particular. "Let's minimize the damage, shall we?" He spoke to himself, charging his reiatsu in the familiar Hollow-technique all of them were able to do; the Cero.

She followed his gaze, still short of air, looking to them all. She quickly realized what he meant with 'minimalizing the damage'. He'd kill two birds with one stone - two souls with one shot. The concentrated beam of reiatsu would definitely be able to break through the wavering barrier too…

"Cero." The man calmly announced.

She jumped to her feet, though they hated her for doing it. "NO!" She rasped, racing the beam to their common goal. With a sharp turn in the last moment, she managed to block its path. With her own body.

Pain coursed through her from her torso. It was insanely warm and wet - a familiar feeling. It hurt more than she could ever put into words. She couldn't move a single step right now. But she was still standing.

Several people called out to her, but there was only one she could hear. "L-Lu… Chan…" A tiny voice barely whispered the words, trembling with mixed emotions right behind her.

Lucy breathed harshly, trying to gain control of herself through the haze. This… This was nothing. She couldn't let something like this stop her now.

"Why do you keep fighting?" She heard that cursed man ask her from where he stood, genuinely confused.

She opened her eyes and glared at him through her golden bangs. "Because…" She started out, pausing as a fit of coughs wrecked through her. "I… Won't let you.. Kill any of them…" She managed to tell him, though she only sounded pitiful in this state.

He looked at her with a frown, approaching slowly. "Look behind you, Lucy - are those people really worth fighting so hard for?" He asked her.

She only glared at him - all she could do right now. She couldn't manage another word.

A flash of anger passed over his face. In an instant, he was behind her. "Let me show you what I mean, then." He offered. She'd barely had the time to turn her head before one of his kicks sent her stumbling ahead and falling.

She landed on her stomach, the gravel and sand digging into the open wound stretching across her entire torso painfully. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to push off the ground, but then a foot landed on her back, forcing her down again harshly.

"No." Aizen harshly told her, never easing the pressure he kept on her back. "I want you to look at them, Lucy." He told her, but she just kept her face hidden in the ground. Until he'd had enough and roughly grabbed her hair by the scalp, painfully tearing her head back. "Look at them, Lucy. These are the people you would protect with your life." He reminded her.

Forced to do as he said, she looked at them. It was the same as last she looked - they were absolutely terrified of her, even pulling a little away in the barrier. Some looked at her with such harsh, cold eyes..

The moment was short, as Aizen spoke again. "These people. Every one of them is scared of you and what you might do - even that girl you just protected. Especially her." He told her clearly, making water sting in the back of her eyes again, both from the physical and mental pain he was inflicting on her right now.

He lifted his foot off of her back and released her hair, only to kick her right over on her back immediately after, so that she was facing him instead of them.

He looked down at her with hard eyes. "You are fighting so hard for a bunch of people, who do not care for you the slightest. Why fight for people who can only hate you?" He asked.

She gaped, unable to formulate any kind or form of a sentence in her head at that. She didn't know the answer to that.

She had no chance to answer as the pressure of his presence was suddenly removed by the beam of a familiar Cero. "Back the fuck off, Aizen!" Grimmjow growled furiously, trying to protect her.

But… Aizen was right, wasn't he? They… They hated her now, didn't they?

* * *

 **There you got it. A long. Ass. Chapter. Goddammit.**

 **Yes, so, Aizen obviously loves his mind-games. And he made full use of it throughout this battle, so far. He built her up just to tear her right down, removing all resolve she'd had. Throughout, she got pissed at him, yes, but he also created a seed of doubt, which he then took real good care of here in the end.**

 **How will it all end, though? Now, Fairy Tail knows who she really is and what she's done. So will she ever get on proper terms with them all again?  
More importantly though… Will she even be okay again after all this? - Given there even is an 'after' in this battle for her. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and commenting, guys! Truly keeps the spirit up in writing!**

 **~Line464d**


	29. Chapter 29 - The Spirit of a Fairy

**Chapter 29 - The Spirit of a Fairy**

 **Hope you all enjoy the part 2 of the battle!  
It kind of went its own way. Had entirely different plans (though, of course, similar) for this, buuuuuuuut it had a mind of its own, it seems**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima are, of course, the proud owners of Bleach and Fairy Tail. I'm the proud owner of whatever this mashup is XD**

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Lucy barely looked up, even as Ichigo jumped in and helped Grimmjow fight Aizen. She didn't even look anywhere at all - she kept her eyes closed where she was lying on the ground.

Because she knew the first thing she'd see if she opened them would be Fairy Tail. Their disdain. And their hate. For her.

And that's just how they were supposed to look at her, wasn't it? With how Aizen had showed them and made them think, of course they would… But it wasn't her hands which had killed them. It wasn't her… Right?

She wanted to roll over and curl up on herself, but her tired, beaten body protested even the slightest movement. All energy had been drained from her completely. She didn't have much reiatsu or magic left either - that battle had been much too long. And she was useless now.

She felt a gentle presence by her side and a similar feeling covering her in warmth. "Lucy! Are you okay?" Orihime called out. Though the answer to that should be completely transparent - obviously she wasn't okay.

But the blonde knew the girl wasn't asking about that kind of 'okay', so she sighed lightly. "I'll be fine. Don't waste your energy on me." She said with a lot less power behind her voice than she had intended there to be.

She could feel the girl's troubled look on her at that statement. "But… You can't even stand up…" She slowly pointed out.

Lucy finally opened her eyes, staring straight up at the young girl intensely. "There is nothing for you to heal." She harshly snapped at her, eyes squinted in a light glare.

The girl recoiled a little at the harsh words, a hurt look passing through her eyes. Nonetheless it was true - the blonde's real wounds weren't so easy to heal. They weren't even on the outside. That was why she couldn't heal her.

Despite her body's protests, Lucy rolled over on her side, keeping her back to both Orihime and Fairy Tail. None of them understood anything about her situation, did they?

Even if they did, they probably wouldn't forgive her for what had been done, though. Either for not doing anything at the time or for not saying anything about it.

But… She didn't tell them because she didn't want to lose them. She didn't want to lose their kind smiles and laughs. Couldn't lose that love of theirs. Because it was all she had left of them. Of this world. Her old life…

She had nothing if she didn't have that.

The loss of it had tackled her to this degree; so far down she'd created a crater she couldn't crawl out of no matter how much she tried. She couldn't imagine an existence without it.

That was something she'd just have to live without though, wasn't it? She… Couldn't really do anything about it now. It wasn't like she could revive someone from the dead.

They hated her. They had to. She could already feel their daggers, thrown at her turned back. And she was too much of a coward to face that right now. She couldn't face their wrath.

She really hadn't wanted them to know this.. She knew what they thought - that she was simply a cold-blooded killer now, who'd do it for sport. It went completely against what she'd been taught in this place; the very values they held and Fairy Tail embodied.

She couldn't even remember a time they had killed someone - and it wasn't forced on them. There was no such thing. No matter who their enemies had been - even if they were the worst of the worst, it was never even considered if they should kill those people. Ever.

Before just now, she had never heard Natsu yell that he would kill someone with such conviction. He'd meant it - he'd never meant it before, if he'd ever even said it.

Earth and its worlds of death simply wasn't a good virus for Earthland to catch. The darkness of those worlds ate away at this world and its people. It wasn't right…

And… Neither was she to these guys any longer. To them, she was the same as Earth was to Earthland; a corrosive poison.

"Lucy…" Orihime gently muttered, touching the blonde's shoulder carefully. "I.. I think they need you out there…" The young girl slowly said.

For a moment, Lucy perked up. Fairy Tail could still need her for something? But no, that was not the people the girl had spoken of, she found. Following her gaze, Lucy's eyes landed on Grimmjow and Ichigo, who were now working together to fight Aizen and struggling. They were only barely keeping up with him, even though they outnumbered him. Proof of how strong Aizen was and what effect earlier battles had on the two..

They would never be enough to defeat someone like Aizen the way they were now - weakened and half-assedly working together. Rangiku wouldn't really be all that much help either; she'd be too worried about Gin the entire time. And Orihime was probably even more ineffective than Fairy Tail were in this situation.

Which meant… There was only her left. But she couldn't fight… She was drained of everything, magic especially. She couldn't do anything, even if she'd wanted to.

She shook her head, finally replying to the girl's request. "I can't…" She muttered, staring ahead at the three different Hollow-Shinigami hybrids.

Orihime turned her head and looked at the blonde. A deep crease between her brows suddenly lightened as she looked to Fairy Tail and back at the blonde. "You know, Lucy… I'm sure if you explain it to them, they will understand." She softly told the other girl, who barely looked at her at all.

Anything Lucy would have said was cut off by the person who had once called her his partner. "Yeah! Just explain it." He agreed quickly, though he wasn't awarded with the blonde's gaze even then. "I know you, Lucy. You wouldn't kill someone just like that." He tried to argue.

She didn't turn to him, instead looked down at her hands. One covered in crimson red to the elbow. Blood. And not hers.

When she felt it beginning to tremble, she balled it up in an attempt to control it. "Are you really sure about that…?" She lowly asked, not even sure anyone could hear it.

Why was it she had done that, again? She couldn't even remember what had made her do it… She just knew it felt right at the time. Just like that.

A headache rose in her, making her clamp her eyes shut, gripping her head in both hands. A scramble of flashes, pictures and memories flashed through her mind, seemingly at random.

The way she dragged that Hollow to Grimmjow, all the hunts she had been on since becoming an Arrancar, Zommari's heart bursting in her bare hands, her calm when Grimmjow ripped Luppi's out of his chest.

All the necks she'd ripped open with her teeth, the taste of their blood, the feel of it under her claws. That feeing when she skewered someone's flesh with her tail.

When she had gladly torn someone in two and shared them with Di-Roy. When she and Shawlong outsmarted, ambushed and killed someone the way they liked to do. When she'd had such light-hearted chats with Yylfordt while she'd torn someone's leg off with a snap of her jaw. When she'd rolled her eyes at Eduard killing someone off too quick. When she'd happily accepted Nakeem's catch for them and shared. When she'd played such vicious games with her prey alongside Grimmjow.

Was she really… So innocent after all?

Her thoughts were cut off when Gajeel suddenly called out. "Shrimp! What the hell's going on with you?!" He yelled, genuine worry and fear in his voice.

Lucy's head immediately snapped to them, her eyes wide in fear of what might have happened. The petite girl looked almost lifeless with the way she hung in the Iron Dragon Slayer's arms. The heaving of her chest proved that the worst hadn't happened, at least. Still… She had a really bad feeling about this..

Mira stepped forward, gently putting a hand to the bluenette's head. "She's probably just a little overwhelmed by everything that's going on." She softly reassured the big guy. Lucy wasn't so sure that was it.

A spike in reiatsu confirmed her worries. "Finally. I have collected everything I need." Aizen said with his sinister laugh, his arms spread out wide as swirling reiatsu curled around him, gradually concealing him completely. All the while, his reiatsu continued to sky-rocket.

"Could really use some fucking help over here, Kitten…!" Grimmjow didn't really turn to her as he spoke, he kept his attention on the former Shinigami, so that he could react whenever he popped out of that and attacked them.

She could feel they did, but she wasn't sure she could. And since Aizen had gotten the last two souls somehow, he would only get even stronger from now on. She'd lost so thoroughly before, and that certainly wouldn't change now.

Not.. That she was sure what she was even fighting for any longer.

She dropped her head, sagging where she sat. She would only be a hindrance if she jumped in right now and tried to meddle with it all.

"LUCY!" He yelled sharply, making her head whip up in surprise. He often yelled aggressively like this, but rarely ever at her. "Get your head out of your fucking ass and snap out of that shit!" He ordered her, his stormy eyes meeting hers. "Don't you realize what the fuck this bastard just fucking did?!" He asked her just a little louder.

For a moment, she didn't understand what he was getting at. But when her gaze flickered towards Fairy Tail, she finally understood. Her eyes widened as she looked to the unconscious bluenette. Surely.. Aizen's didn't… Even he wouldn't…

Just then, the man himself stepped out of whatever transformation he'd undergone. He was completely changed, both in looks and in presence. It kind of looked like his long, white coat had wrapped all around him like a cocoon, even covering his face. His eyes though.. What had once been white in them was now entirely black.

But that wasn't even important in light of what he'd say next. "Ah, it would seem those two - though yet unborn - were sufficient after all." He lightly commented, self-confidence and not an ounce of regret shining in his voice.

Oh no, he didn't…!

Untamed and very angry wildfires burst to life in her. Never in her life could she remember a time she had been so pissed at a single person; her whole body trembled in her fury. No matter the reason behind all this, she wasn't sure she could ever forgive him for this.

She glared straight ahead at him, who sent a smirk right back at her before being attacked by Ichigo again. She balled her hands by her sides, keeping it in just a moment longer.

"Orihime." She spoke thought gritted teeth as she got up on her feet again, none of the protests from before anywhere in sight. "Go to Levy. Right now!" Se harshly told the girl.

Only when said girl actually went towards the petite mage did Lucy un-ball her fists, releasing the tension that'd built up simply from holding herself back. It was time to kill that motherfucking bastard.

She picked up the pointed whip by her side, her grip on it making her knuckles go white. As soon as she saw even the slightest chance with how he was jumping around between Grimmjow and Ichigo, she struck.

Her whip flew out and violently wrapped itself around his neck- the fun end poking into his skin, naturally. With a tug at the taut weapon, she forced him clashing into the ground painfully. The look she got from the guy was slightly surprised, but still as calm as ever - if not even more so. If that was even possible at all.

She growled at that look of his. "I'll make you pay for this, Aizen." She dangerously warned him, his imminent death written in her narrowed eyes.

He looked up at her, remaining silent for a moment as he squinted his eyes. "So stubborn you are." He lowly commented, she could barely even hear it.

"Damn right! That's the Kitten I know and love." Grimmjow said with his usual, bloodthirsty grin. He got fired up just by the look of her anger, it seemed.

Aizen only sighed as he quickly undid the whip from his neck, completely ignoring the red punctures all around it as if he didn't even feel them. Standing between the three of them, he crouched lightly. "Well. Come at me, then." He ordered them all.

Impatient to get started, she charged right at him, claws spread out and the whip obediently flying by her side. She jumped up above him, slashing down from there. Having seen her coming from a mile away, he easily blocked her with a single arm, to which he received a growl.

Ichigo quickly followed her lead, charging the guy with his black zanpakuto. Though the human was wearing that mask of his, Aizen could easily meet him right ahead with his own zanpakuto.

Immediately, Grimmjow charged him as well, while the guy was holding both Lucy and Ichigo in a dead-lock. Right as the Espada was about to pierce him, he disappeared.

Lucy knew exactly where he went though and quickly followed him. With a quick flick of her wrist, she forced the hardened whip into his side as though it was a sword. "Did you really think you could escape that easily?" She asked him lowly, pressing the pointed weapon down even further, drawing more blood from him.

He hardly even grimaced as he looked at her over his shoulder. "You may be far smarter than the two down there-" He said as said two only now realized that Aizen had run to the sky. "However, you lack the brute force that they and I have." He stated, twisting his body despite the whip being lodged in his side. With a quick hit with the hilt of his sword, he sent her crashing back down, tearing the whip out the way it came.

She didn't even get to touch the ground before she was caught mid-air by a familiar set of hands. A snort sounded above her. "That idiot's still underestimating you." Grimmjow said in a mix of amusement and exasperation. "'Bout time he sees what Demon-Lucy's all about, don't you think?" He asked, grinning widely at that.

His confidence being infectious, she grew a smirk on her own face as well. Yes, she would make sure he finally paid for all the lives he'd taken.

With a nod to each other, they joined Ichigo up in the sky. The deep wound she'd given Aizen just a moment ago was completely gone, as if it hadn't even been there in the first place. Shit, he had this kind of healing too?

She charged right at him with a growl, but he simply side-stepped her, his zanpakuto clashing with Grimmjow's instead. She quickly tuned around, using that momentum as the force behind her kick. He was faster though, and managed to swipe her feet from under her before she could connect. Ichigo quickly stepped in, taking her place while she regained her footing.

She immediately jumped up again as he pushed both men aside in a burst of force. Just as she reached him, he whirled around and delivered another quick hit on her, once again sending her crashing into the nearest building's roof.

She scowled as she sat up again. They'd have to do better than this if they wanted to beat him. That said his pushing them all away like that also proved they were at least doing something to him. He didn't want them all going at him at the same time.

When she looked up towards where Grimmjow and Ichigo were once again fighting Aizen, a strange feeling settled in her stomach - that picture wasn't quite right. It was almost like… They weren't really fighting him, but-

"Well, well. You figured that out quick." She whipped around, feeling the voice right behind her along with the owner's presence. "You know, I just felt it was getting a little crowded up there. Did you not feel the same? - I know I quite preferred it when it was just the two of us." Aizen commented with that creepy smile of his.

She growled lowly. So she was right; those two were really fighting each other thanks to his illusions. In that case there was only one thing she should do - friendly fire was a waste after all.

She glared right at him, not sharing the sentiments, and let a wave of magic flood the area. "I rather like it the way it is now, actually." She calmly replied as the illusion shattered all around them.

"A shame." He stated, then slashed his zanpakuto down at her. She quickly blocked it with her own, his blade getting caught between the rib-like protrusions as she bent the long weapon to her will.

Grimmjow and Ichigo soon appeared by each of her sides, done fighting each other and seemingly pretty pissed about that little trick of Aizen's.

Realizing the predicament he was suddenly in, he tried turning tail and running away with the shunpo Unfortunately - for him - she had worked her whip around his leg without him noticing it, preventing him from getting that far.

Grimmjow scowled at the man from her right. "Not this fucking time, you bastard" He told him, shifting his grip on the zanpakuto pointedly.

At her left, Ichigo brought his up as well, gripping it in both hands. "You'll pay for that." He growled as his golden Hollow eyes flashed dangerously.

As if she'd given them the signal, the two men simultaneously rushed the former Shinigami, both of their zanpakuto pressing against his heavily.

She withdrew her whip from his leg, making sure it wouldn't leave without leaving its mark of where it had been. She immediately sonido'ed behind him before he could get the chance to escape. Wasting no time, she lashed out and let the weapon scrape across his back.

He groaned both in pain and what sounded like exasperation. "You.. To think you three weaklings force me to do this.." He muttered angrily to himself.

Moments later, he was once again covered in reiatsu. Only, it was even stronger than before and continued to grow even higher.

"Fuck." Grimmjow muttered, effectively managing to sum up exactly what she was feeling right now with that one word.

What the hell.. So he'd really been in a cocoon before - was he going to sprout wings like a fucking butterfly now? They'd been struggling before, what were they supposed to do now?

Almost as if reading her mind, Ichigo spoke up. "We'll just have to come up with something." He stated, his encouraging words contrasting weirdly with his dark voice.

They all braced themselves as the swirling reiatsu revealed him again. The old, white coat was pretty much back and he looked exactly the same as he did before all this nonsense, only the whites in his eyes were still chillingly black and his hair was much longer than before.

Now, the sinister feeling of his reiatsu was a completely different talk.

One second, he was calmly gazing at the three of them, the next he'd sent them all flying in each of their directions with a kick in the gut - or something similar. She crashed down into the ground below, feeling the deep wound on her stomach from earlier cracking open at the impact. Damn it. She didn't need this kind of shit at a time like this.

Ignoring the pulsing pain and the seeping blood, she quickly jumped up again, reaching him in no time. With a growl, she drew the whip up again and let it fly at him with a flick of her wrist.

He smirked as he let the whip wrap all around his own zanpakuto rather than his neck. And, with a flick of his wrist, the whip harmlessly fell down.

She growled and charged at him again, seeing Grimmjow approaching him as well from the corner of her eyes. Creating the claws at the ends of her fingers again, she attacked him from one side as Grimmjow did the other.

Aizen was completely calm though, waiting for them to be close enough before he pushed them both away with a burst of his reiatsu alone.

He didn't push them far, as they both skidded to a halt a little away. But it was enough to put some distance between them.

Which meant they could only watch as Aizen slammed his fist right into Ichigo' masked forehead. All around it, the mask crumbled into pieces, even as the human stood completely frozen on the spot. When the last piece under Aizen's hand fell, the orange-haired human slowly tipped backwards, beginning his less than pleasant decent to the ground.

She was about to rush to catch him, when a call from below and a slide of ice suddenly appeared, catching the human as gently as possible. "Don't worry about him, Lucy. We've got him. Just focus on that bastard!" Gray yelled at her.

She looked down, meeting his dark eyes shortly. Though her heart wept tears of joy, she only gave him a single nod, facing towards her enemy and slamming her fist into her hand with a toothy grin. "I'm all fired up…!" She replied, knowing each of them understood exactly what that meant.

Just as she completely understood what that slide of his meant; she had their support again. In this, at least.

Truly feeing that inner flame burning even brighter - both in determination from their encouragement and from the anger of what he'd just done to Ichigo - she ran at the enemy ahead again, just as Grimmjow did the same.

She quickly lashed out with her whip, catching his arm with it. Before he could do anything about it, she tore it off him again, letting all the pointy ends drag over his skin as she so wanted them to do.

While Grimmjow engaged in close combat with him, being faster than her, she lashed out again. Somehow, though facing Grimmjow simultaneously, he used his sword and easily slapped the zanpakuto away.

That maneuver of his didn't stop her rapid approach, of course. She'd seen his deflection of that from far away. He wasn't being as careful as he had been before, since he was certain he now had the upper hand. Evidently, he didn't have to right now either, but maybe that was their only chance.

Just as she reached him, he managed to send Grimmjow flying, giving him ample opportunity to easily face her. She gritted her teeth and drew her whip up again, but before she even got a chance to make the first move, a hard hit with the blunt side of his sword hammered down over her fingers.

She couldn't help crying out in pain and surprise as her had reflexively let go of the weapon it'd been holding, letting it clatter on the ground below. So far away she couldn't dare risk going after it.

"This has grown rather… Tedious." Aizen calmly commented as he looked at her, who quickly worked her fingers back to full use. "Let us end this." He said.

Moments later, her back harshly connected with the ground as it had done so many times in this battle. Only just out of her reach was her whip, neatly spread out on the ground beside her. She reached out to it. If she used her reiatsu and magic, it would be back in her hand in no time.

However, a crushing pain reverberated through her left side - starting from the shoulder and arm that were reaching out to the whip. The cracking sound and the heavy, agonizing pressure at her shoulder confirmed it for her; he was breaking her damn shoulder under his foot. She could feel it splintering completely under her skin.

He sighed lightly as she screamed in pain at his ruthless act. "It is over now, there is nothing you can do." He told her, as if talking about a broken plate rather than thousands of lives already lost. When Grimmjow furiously came running, Aizen easily caught him by the neck, not even turning as he spoke. "And neither can you." He said as though this situation bored him.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she forced herself not to make a sound under the awful pain. When she opened them again, she glared right up at him defiantly.

She was going to figure something out. She would kill this goddamn bastard so many times over he'd wish she just ended him the first time.

He looked right back at her, none of them even paying the choking Espada any attention. "I simply do not get you." He then said after a while. "Why are you so stubborn? Why do you keep protecting those weaklings? Why do you still fight?" He asked.

She kept her mouth shut, knowing that if she opened it right now, the right things wouldn't be coming out. The pain almost completely deafened her at this point.

He waited for her a moment longer, before accepting he'd get no reply. "Why do you still fight for those people, even now?" He continued as Grimmjow steadily grew angrier from where he was hanging in the air. "You do realize by now that you are nothing like these people, do you not?" He asked, pausing dramatically before saying the next words. "You are a killer."

Even Grimmjow grew silent from where he was hanging at that. Everyone grew silent at that. Anxious to hear what she had to say and how she reacted. You'd hear a fly if one buzzed by the area, it was that silent.

Mustering up the strength, she gripped the man's ankle and roughly threw it off her shoulder. Still without saying a word, she struggled to her feet, her left arm dangling lifelessly at her side.

Even then, it took a moment before she said anything. "You are right." She quietly replied, her eyes not meeting his. "I am a killer." She agreed a little more strongly. "Araña, Risley and Beth. Nichiya, Ichiya, Ren, Eve and Hibiki. Cheria and Sherry. Yukino and Rufus… Jet and Droy…" She slowly named them, glaring at the ground rather than at any of the people gathered here. "Thousands of people I don't even knew the names or faces of…" She said, taking a deep breath to calm herself however much she could. "I killed them all." She stated, the sharp intakes of breaths around her not going by unnoticed. "And… I took pleasure in it." She admitted as well. It all needed to get on the table.

She could still feel how it felt to trample people under her feet. Their bones made that sound along with their broken off screams. How it felt to squash them in her hands. Their looks of terror in their final moments. How it felt to bite them over in two. The bittersweet taste of their metallic blood exploding on her tongue. How it felt to chase them around in one of her games. Their all-consuming fear, which only made it all the better.

She remembered it all so very clearly… Because it was what she'd done every day to get by ever since.

"I can't ever hope to count the amount of Hollows I have sunk my teeth into. The amount whose heads I have ripped off their bodies. The amount whose skulls I have torn open." She continued, clenching her right hand - the one she had killed Zommeri with. "Even those not too far from myself." She said. "That is how life is in Hueco Mundo; kill or be killed." She admitted.

The absolute silence following her words that she received from Fairy Tail was what she had expected of them. A little better than that, actually. Yet still, it hurt. But… They deserved to know at this point. She couldn't hide it any longer. Even if she'd wanted to.

"So, yes. It would be wrong to call me a fairy at this point." She said with a dry laugh. Finally, she looked up to meet Aizen's attentive and curious eyes, a flame of anger and resentment burning behind hers. He'd brought this shit on himself. "But I've got the goddamn spirit of one!" She yelled at him.

Before she could say or do anything else, blackness completely took over her sight. It felt strange- not like she was unconscious or anything like that. It was dark and it was sinister, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"Not then… What is this?" She could hear Aizen ask, the same distance away that he'd been before. He sounded only mildly interested, but with him that meant he was intrigued.

Grimmjow coughed out a laugh. "Your end." He managed to sort of rasp out.

Just as he'd said that, a rush of power washed through her. She could literally feel her bones re-connecting properly at her shoulder. Impressively enough, it did not hurt a single bit, even with the speed it was going at. The wound on her stomach, as well, was patching itself up quickly, along with every other wound she'd gotten during this battle.

But that wasn't even the most fantastical thing that happened. Just as she felt the reverse when she became an Arrancar so long ago, she now felt the remnant running down her back extend. Long rib-like extensions crawled around her back and over to her front. The same rib-like structures grew down her arms and legs - just as they were when she'd been an Adjuchas. Only difference was the fact they were all longer and even pointier than they had been then.

The empowering feeling she got from this was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It was even greater than having the Second Origin opened. Yet, she knew exactly what it was without needing anyone's confirmation.

She'd just become a Vasto Lorde.

The swirling blackness vanished and revealed her new and improved form. She knew, from when Grimmjow made this change, that the change really was dramatic - even if the change of appearances wasn't counted. Looking around at their faces, she could see this held true for herself as well. The whistle behind her - undoubtedly Gin - only confirmed that.

She smirked at Aizen, who finally let go of Grimmjow as if he was a boring toy. "Even if you have become a Vasto Lord somehow, it does not change a thing." He claimed.

Yet, he still let Grimmjow go, so he didn't have that to worry about as well. Her smirk only got wider. "I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you." She warned him. Those were exactly the kind of prideful words which would make sure he'd lose this battle. In a burst of speed, he could hardly even follow, she was right behind him, running a single fingertip over his cheekbones. "It looks like there will finally be a kill of mine I won't have to ever regret." She lowly purred right by his ear. He whipped around, slashing his sword at her, but she nimbly jumped back with more than enough time to spare. "Are you prepared to die, Aizen?" She asked him, her eyes shining in mirth.

He glared at her, holding the zanpakuto loosely at his side, ready to strike though he didn't look like it. Someone like you will never be able to kill me..!" He promised her.

She grinned, starting to slowly circle around him like the predator did its prey. "Oh, really now? You don't think I'm capable of something like that?" She asked with a sugary tone. The sweetness quickly became an infuriated sneer. "Not even after you fucking killed me?!" She snarled at him.

It looked like it was back to just being the two of them again - Grimmjow had retreated to standing on guard by the sidelines, realizing he'd not be able to keep up. Luckily though, he likely wouldn't have to now - the roles were reversed from what they had been.

Aizen cautiously watched her as she circled him, a furious glare directed at him. "When you forced me to kill so many people? The people I love? When you forced them through so much pain and heartache? When you made sure I could never live a day of my afterlife feeling safe? When you made existing a living hell? When you drove a wedge between me and the only person I had? When you played your games with my and his minds? When you forced us to do things we shouldn't have to?" She hailed him down, finally stopping right in front of him. "When you used me just so you could go and kill so many people that I love and cherish, just for you own, fucking gain." She growled out.

There were so many things he'd done just to her that she could go on forever and ever. But none of them had the time for that, and he knew just as well as she did of the things he'd done to her - she didn't have to say them all.

"You don't think that is enough for me to kill you?" She asked, furious that he would ever think something like that. He seriously underestimated her if he thought that - especially now she'd let the last of her restraints go.

He crouched down, readying his zanpakuto. "No, I do not." He just as stubbornly replied, charging at her for the first time in forever.

Except he was so slow, she had another eternity to figure out how to best counter it. Alas, she easily deflected the blade with the back of her hand, using the very same one to hammer right into his jaw.

He stumbled back and before he'd even gotten his bearing, he'd received another one in the side. At the second one, he looked at her as if she'd just insulted his grandma.

She shrugged lightly at the look. "Something like that isn't even close to enough - you'll have to do better than that." She told him. He wasn't taking her seriously.

Narrowing his eyes, he realized what she was really asking. "All right, if that is what you truly wish." He seemingly reluctantly conceded. Really, he probably wanted nothing more than to be rid of her by now.

She watched as reiatsu began flowing from him, appearing tangibly in the air around him. A sudden thought popped into her head at the sight of it. If this worked…

Feeling he was properly charged, Aizen raise his zanpakuto again, swinging it at her with a pretty good amount of reiatsu in it.

Confident that her little experiment would work, she coated her hand purely in magic. Then, she easily stopped the sword with the palm of her hand. It didn't even cut through her skin - her experiment was indeed a success.

Aizen stared at where his sword connected with her hand and not a single droplet of her blood showed. "What… What is this? What did you do?!" He yelled at her, confused.

She pulled her hand back from the blade, smiling wistfully at him. "Without any reiatsu, you can't hurt me." She vaguely replied. He was smart though, he should be able to figure it out.

Even if he did, he didn't understand, because he relentlessly continued to swing that zanpakuto of his at her, putting more and more reiatsu behind each swing. Every time, she drained the reiatsu with her magic, making the efforts useless. He did swing it so rapidly she didn't even get a chance to land a hit at him though, because she had to block all of his hits.

"You will have to run out of that magic at some point!" He yelled loudly as he got surrounded by reiatsu, transforming once again. It was getting quite boring with that already - doing the same thing over and over again.

Granted, this time he actually sprouted wings and his reiatsu exploded. There was something with final forms and the multiplication of reiatsu - it was always way more drastic then.

Even so, it still didn't change a thing. He kept throwing things at her and she kept nullifying them to worthlessness with her magic. However, he had been right - she couldn't do this forever, though it made things easier. When she was so low on magic she wasn't even sure there was enough left for a regular Regulus' Cero, she began dodging instead.

As soon as she did that the first time, a smile worked its way to his ugly face. "Oh, so I was right, was I? You have no more magic." He stated with all the confidence in the world. "Which means you will have to die by my hand a second time." He said amusedly.

She felt her eyebrow involuntarily rise at that claim. An absolutely pissed smile grew on her face. "You see…" She trailed off, glaring at the bastard as invisible vines of energy grew behind her. "Magic is a fickle thing." She told him, striking out with it. He couldn't see it coming, so the thing soon lodged itself deep in his shoulder.

He grunted in pain and 'cut' the vine off with his katana, making the energies vanish into thin air. "So you held something back. I knew you weren't that much of an amateur." He replied harshly.

Basically, he didn't understand. "Not really." She replied matter-of-factly as she dodged one of his jabs. "Magic isn't like reiatsu, it doesn't run out in that way. It reacts to emotions." She tried to explain as she delivered a punch to his injured shoulder, making him stagger backwards. "Strong emotions equal lots of magic. Weak emotions equal little magic. It's a variable." She explained, though she wasn't exactly sure why.

"You are such a nuisance." Was all he said in response to that as he attempted to swipe her feet. To no avail though, as she simply jumped into the air. She wouldn't let him get her like that twice.

She smiled down at him, all the hatred in the world shining through that smile. "Well, you have yourself to thank for that, now don't you?" She replied, knowing how much that'd tick him off already.

True enough, his swings only got more forceful after that little comment. She barely even managed to dodge and block them all with how quick they came. There was no doubt the power of the Hogyoku wasn't to be poked fun of - he had tremendous amounts of reiatsu still, and she was soon going to be running on fumes if this continued.

He swung the sword at her again, making her jump up to avoid it. Then, he disappeared from her sights, appearing behind her instead. She didn't have the chance to react before he jabbed the zanpakuto right into her unprotected back.

She froze up as the cold steel ran through the spine-like remnant on her back. "A little bird once told me all you Arrancar's remnants are one, big soft spot. Seems you have more than enough for me to pick from, huh?" He asked mockingly as he broke off a piece of the hard bone-like thing on her back as he pulled the sword out.

It was exactly the same spot Grimmjow had caressed earlier.. She couldn't even move, it felt like her nerve-endings had been fried.

She could hear Grimmjow growling furiously form where he was standing. "You fucking bastard, I'll fucking kill you for this…!" He warned the guy, taking a threatening step forward.

As Aizen turned to him, she cursed her own weakness. She had to stop this shit. "Oh? Do you want to give that a try?" He asked, slowly approaching Grimmjow with his zanpakuto raised.

She growled. Hell no! With strength she wasn't sure where she found, she broke out of the pain and appeared right behind Aizen, pressing three reiatsu and magic-made claws into the back of his neck.

The sensation of them made him stop in his tracks. "If you ever even consider touching another one of the people I love, I'll cut you into fucking ribbons and wear them in my damn hair as bows for the rest of my fucking life. You got that?" She snarled at him in warning. She wouldn't let him touch a single on of their hairs any longer.

He turned around to her with a smirk. "Sorry, were you not done yet?" He asked her, the same smirk playing in his eyes.

She glared at him, straightening her back though it hurt like hell. "Not even by a long shot. Fairies fight till their last breath, after all, and so do I." She reassured him. She'd only be done when he was dead. Then she'd also be really done.

He smirked wider, turning to her fully. "I see. Please allow me to rectify that mistake." He asked, though he didn't wait for permission even a little bit as he immediately went straight ahead and kicked her in the ribs.

She was pretty sure she heard something cracking both before and after she crashed through the guild's wall, falling to the floor.

She'd gotten back on her feet again by the time he approached her again. He looked at her for a moment, how she was holding the side he'd just kicked. "Are you really sure you are not done yet?" He asked her, looking like he was seeing something pitiful.

Ignoring the taste of blood on her tongue, she opened her mouth to answer. Only to be cut off. "YES! I did it!" Orihime screeched in joy out there.

Lucy didn't have to hear anything more, instead turning a smirk to her enemy. " _I'm_ not. But it looks like you are." She told him knowingly. He just managed to look at her confusedly before being swallowed by the now-familiar reiatsu once again. "Should've killed that human girl when you had the chance."

Aizen appeared from it, looking just like they all remembered he did before he absorbed the Hogyoku and got the last souls. And felt just the same as well.

He looked down at himself, feeling the change as clearly as they did, then up at her with wide eyes upon realizing what it all meant for him.

She wasted no time delivering a kick to his stomach, sending him flying out of her way. He crashed on the ground ahead, perfectly in the middle of their self-proclaimed battlefield, for everyone to see.

She quickly stepped through the rubble and back into view. It was time to finally end this. "Grim, please." She asked, holding a hand out to him, knowing he'd know exactly what she was asking for.

True enough, he got the hint and reached for his zanpakuto, but he wasn't fast enough. "Nah, please use mine." Gin said, throwing his zanpakuto to her. "I wanna be a part a' this too, ya know." He said, his usual creepy smile on his face. A look of relief rested on it now though.

She easily caught the light sword, weighing it in her hand. He was already as big a part of this as they were though - had he not been here, it might not have been possible for it to end like this. Scratch that; it definitely wouldn't have been possible if he hadn't been here.

Either way, she understood and easily held the thin blade in her hands, the duty of what she was about to do making the light sword heavy. She pointed it down at the one she - and everyone else - had wanted to be rid of for so long now. "Any last words, Aizen?" She asked him, stepping over and keeping him down on the ground with a foot on his shoulder.

His smirk didn't falter, even in the face of his imminent death. "You should thank me. You would never have gained this strength had it not been for me." He proudly stated.

She was compelled to roll her eyes at that claim, but reined it in. "Goodbye Aizen." She said and plunged the sword into his chest.

* * *

 **Oookay, there we go. Aizen is finally gone. And so symbolically as well - it's beautiful.  
So, please tell me I'm not the only one kind of satisfied, but also kind of sad to see him go? He was a great character, though he was a mean ass. **

**Anyway, yeah. A lot of shit happened.  
First off, I hope you guys caught what happened to Levy. If not, it will be explained in the next chapter, so don't worry. You can sit with Natsu over there and be confused  
Though, let's just say… It's kind of macabre. **

**Second, I also hope you guys caught what kind of transformation - other than becoming a Vasto Lorde - that Lucy went through in this. And then I also am curious to know if any of you might have figured it out this time around, what lets one become a Vasto.  
Again, if not, it will also, I believe, be explained somewhat next time as well. **

**Yeah, and Fairy Tail know now. Aizen is dead. Life is great.  
Except a war's kinda still going on. But, well, I mean, it pales in comparison, right? **

**So yeah, hope you enjoyed! And thank you for reading, following, favoriting and commenting! - 4 chappies left, guys~**

 **~Line464d**


	30. Chapter 30 - The End of the War

**Chapter 30 - The End of the War**

 **Again, I'm so sorry for the long wait. But, I do hope you enjoy it just as much anyway!  
Also, just so you know… I didn't have time to proofread this :3**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Welp. Not this time around, no, the two I've based this off aren't mine in the slightest. **

* * *

Lucy watched silently as Aizen's head tilted slightly to the side, life draining from his eyes gradually. With a slight sigh, she pulled the thin blade up and out.

She was having a hard time truly believing that man was actually, really, finally dead. The cocky smirk he had on his lips still seemed so real. Yet, she had made sure he did just now.

She hadn't quite imagined it would be like this though… She'd thought she would have felt relieved or happy - maybe even a little sad or regretful. But she felt nothing. She just felt kind of… Hollow.

"Ya know, I hate ta hafta ruin this moment o' yers, but I figure ya mightn't wanna leave it at that just yet." Gin spoke up behind her.

She turned and looked at him questioningly, watching as he et Rangiku support some of his weight. Something she'd probably had to force him into. That said she really couldn't believe he'd break that moment she had just now, knowing full-well what he was doing.

"Sorry, Kitten, but I'll have to agree with the snake on this." Grimmjow commented from where he was standing with his arms crossed like that. "That bastard's like damn weed - he won't fucking die." He agreed with the white-haired former Shinigami.

She looked at the two alternately, ten sighed and turned her back to them. "You two are fucking unbelievable…" She muttered, fully aware they'd all hear her just fine. She gripped the sword again, putting it to the brown-haired man's throat.

They were right though. Aizen was that kind of person, who would be able to sneak himself out of this sort of predicament somehow. If anyone, he'd be able to survive something like this.

With a clean swipe, his head lolled back lifelessly, a pool of his blood quickly gathering on the ground at her feet. She turned and looked at the two over her shoulder with a raised brow. "Happy now?" She asked them.

"Very." Grimmjow was fast to reply, grinning at her. Gin nodded lightly as well, but said nothing.

She quickly flicked the flecks of blood off the blade, then threw it back to its owner. "I guess we'll let Seireitei take care of the rest of him." She said thoughtfully, stepping off her slain opponent.

Rangiku nodded, glancing towards the now most certainly dead body. "Yeah, the Captain Commander will definitely want visual confirmation of Aizen's death." She agreed, nodding lightly.

Lucy looked back and down at Aizen again. So all of this was finally over, huh?

A snort escaped Grimmjow as he approached her with a strange grin on his face. "Guess this makes you the queen of Hueco, doesn't it?" He asked.

She couldn't help also snorting at that. "Guess it does." How ironic. He'd always been the one wishing for that spot - it was also partly the reason she was even alive at this point - yet here she was, stealing that from right under his nose.

But that was the way of Hueco Mundo; kill the king - the strongest Hollow of them all - and you become the king. Barragan handed his crown to Aizen willing, so now she had killed him… That responsibility was hers.

Grimmjow put his arm around her shoulders, still grinning. "You'll share some of that heavy, heavy duty, won't you?" He basically begged her.

She smiled up at him. Desperate, are we? "Maybe. But only if you gravel and beg for it." She retorted to his plea - something that would no doubt turn into nagging if she didn't.

The guy huffed out a laughter, squeezing her a bit. "You wish, Kitten." He easily declined. For now. In time, he would do even that, when his pride had worn down a bit.

Well, while the game was fun, she had every intention of sharing it with him. She couldn't handle that world all alone; she'd need him.

That'd have to wait a little, though.

She turned to the group of mages, who were incredibly silent given their usual selves. They'd seen some things they honestly shouldn't have had to, after all. And they clearly had no clue how to react.

She wanted to give them the time to process all this, but she couldn't. There was still one thing she needed to do. "Warren, if it's not too much to ask.. And if you're willing to at all… I could really use some help." She told him almost pleadingly, though not so that he would feel he had no choice.

Warren looked around comically, as if making sure it was really him she was talking about. "You need… Me…?" He confusedly asked, a thumb jabbed at himself.

Grimmjow looked at her as she nodded, as confused as the mage was. "What're you thinking, Kitten?" He asked her, having not caught on to her plan, it seemed. Well, it probably was too much to ask that he'd be able to know what each of them could do through her stories alone.

She smiled lightly at him. "Simply performing my first duty as the queen. There's still a war that needs an ending." She reminded him. She could see him beginning to protest, but she shook her head. "It's fine." She promised him.

She needed to do this. To stop the war, of course but also to let everyone know Aizen was dead and there was no reason to fight. And then to state her new position as clearly as she could.

She turned to the mage as he stepped out, giving her a curt nod. "What do you need me to do?" He asked her.

She smiled gratefully to him. She'd understood if he hadn't wanted to, but this really made everything easier. "Thank you, Warren. I really appreciate it." She told him, having to make sure he knew that without fail before she continued. "I need your help to reach the Shinigami Captains and the Espada." She told him. Or what's left of them anyway.

Warren looked at her, wide -eyed and confused once again. "I-I can't do that… I don't know any of these people… I'm sorry." He said in defeat, his gaze falling to his feet.

"Don't worry about that." She reassured him. She knew he would be able to reach people he hadn't ever met with his telepathic magic. That's why she had a plan. "I know the Espada well enough, so I will reach out to them. I just need your help to do it." She told him, getting a slight nod from the guy. Her gaze turned to the Shinigami Lieutenant hopefully. "And I was hoping I might get your help in reaching the Shinigami Captains, Rangiku." She asked of the beautiful and presently very confused woman.

Doing just as Warren had, she looked around her before jabbing a thumb at herself as well. "Me?" She asked a lot more straightforwardly.

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yes, you." She confirmed, then decided to elaborate. "Warren uses telepathic magic, you see, and I don't know the Shinigami very well, so it will be impossible for me to reach them all. Besides that, I don't think they will simply take my word for it, so you're like proof that I am telling the truth." She explained.

Rangiku immediately understood. "Okay, I'm in. I owe you one anyway, for having that brute bring me here." She said, looking pointedly at Grimmjow, then glanced over at Gin shortly.

Lucy smiled, knowing what the woman meant. "I'm glad I could help you." She earnestly told her. That said, they didn't have any time to waste - the longer they waited, the more people would die out there. She looked to Warren, feeling sorry for what she had to ask him. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but will you be able to project the image of us to everyone?" She asked.

He nodded slowly, confused. "Of course. As long as you're physically connected with me, it should be no problem." He explained, though they all knew she already knew that just fine.

"Also if I'm holding some… thing _.._?" She slowly asked him, watching as realization dawned on him.

He slowly nodded, already uncomfortable. "Yes…" He confirmed.

She needed to make this as believable as possible - visible proof would only make it easier for her to do that. This had to be done.

Shooting him a last apologetic look, she bowed down. Uncomfortable with it herself, she picked Aizen's head up by the hair, trying really hard to ignore the squishy, meaty sound that followed as well as the blood welling out of the torn off neck.

"I'm really sorry about this.." She muttered, directing it at all of them. Even Aizen himself. It just felt wrong, even if it was him.

With a sigh, she beckoned for Rangiku to approach Warren as well. The woman did so but looked at the two, confused still. "So. What do I do?" She asked the two of them.

Lucy was the one to answer. "First off, we'll need you to put your hand on Warren's shoulder or something like that - there needs to be a physical connection between you two." She explained, doing that very thing herself. Rangiku followed suit and placed her hand on the mage's other shoulder. Looking to the blonde, the Shinigami awaited further instruction. "Then you need to think about them all deeply and send it all to him through your reiatsu. You'll know without a doubt when you're through to them. He'll take it from there." She told the woman, who nodded affirmatively, her brows slightly furrowed in determination. Lucy then turned to Warren. "It's possible that some of these people are dead already, but just patch us through to as many as you can." She asked of him, knowing it was no easy task she was asking him to do.

He looked at her a little worriedly. "Are you sure it will really work with... 'reiatsu'?" He asked hesitantly, having forgotten their word for it for a moment.

"I am 90 percent sure it will work - magic works well with reiatsu." She explained. Although it could also break it down completely, but she decided to ignore that for now. "Just to be sure, I'll be reaching out to their leader as well with my magic, so you don't have to worry." She reassured him.

She was without a doubt that Genryusai had a plan for how he would reach all the Captains in case something urgent came up, so even if Rangiku's reiatsu wasn't enough, it'd still be fine.

They all exchanged a nod as Warren lifted two fingers to his temple, signaling they were all ready. Lucy let her magic flow into him as she thought of each of the Espada by number - the ones she knew were still alive and on their side, anyway.

Stark… Dead. Barragan… Dead. Harribel… Alive. Nnoitora, Grimmjow and Zommari - skipped. Szayel… Dead. Aaroniero… Dead. Yammy… Alive. Tosen… Dead.

So many had died, some no doubt by the hands of the Captain Commander himself, now he didn't have Aizen to worry about back there.

Looked like she got through to the Shinigami leader as well just fine. She opened her eyes again, feeling she was connected to everyone already. She watched and waited for Rangiku to give a signal of either her success or failure.

After a moment had passed, the woman nodded faintly. "I… I think I've got everyone." She told the two mages, keeping her eyes closed shut in a mixture of concentration and frustration. Seemed she might have made the same discovery Lucy had just now - that it wasn't everyone who'd survived this war.

Lucy squeezed Warren's shoulder. "I'm ready as well. Please, do your thing, Warren." She asked of him, to which he nodded, keeping his eyes closed as well.

A moment later, she could feel the change that followed the open connection with everyone. She could also basically feel how they all stopped in their tracks in surprise and confusion at what they were seeing and feeling.

Wasting no time, she just jumped straight into it before she could get cold feet. "Everyone. I ask you to cease all fighting immediately." She started out, looking right ahead of her at Grimmjow. It almost felt like she was talking to him rather than the people all stuck in an entirely different world. The thought of that sort of calmed her nerves a bit. "With Rangiku Matsumoto as my witness, I can confirm that all reasons for this war are now null." She spoke clearly.

It dawned on her that she never truly learned Aizen's reason behind all of this, other than the wish to be the leader of it all. It seemed even in his death, Aizen would remain a mystery. It was strangely fitting.

She raised the chopped off head in her hands, making sure no one missed that little detail. "Moments ago, on the soil of Earthland - my world - Aizen was defeated and killed." She announced, knowing that there wouldn't be a single one of those guys who didn't know about her origins at this point. "We, who remain of Hueco Mundo have no reason to fight you of Seireitei any further and I know it is the same for you. So I ask that we let this war end before any more lives will be unnecessarily lost." She told them.

Everyone that were left of them were herself, Grimmjow and Gin, who'd just finished what they'd been fighting this war for. There was Harribel, who generally just disliked fighting and killing. There was Ulquiorra, who didn't really give a damn either way and then there was Yammy, who would listen to everything Ulquiorra had to say. So she wasn't worried what she'd said was wrong.

With a squeeze to Warren's shoulder, she silently asked him to cut the connection with them all. The message had been delivered and it didn't need to be fleshed out any further - the pint she was trying to make should be clear to all of them.

He immediately did as she asked and cut it off, having them all breathe out a sigh of relief. It was a lot of people, who were really far away, that they'd had to connect with just now.

She smiled calmly at no one in particular. "I'm glad all of this is finally-" Her sentence was cut short as Aizen's head fell from her hand and her legs buckled and gave in under her.

Before she even had a chance, a pair of familiar and strong arms circled around her waist, keeping her from falling. "Whoa there, Kitten. Might want to take it a little easy on top of all this shit." Grimmjow told her.

She gratefully accepted his help, heavily leaning against him as she found her footing again. "I guess I might have pushed myself a little." She conceded. With how low she was on everything, she could seriously doubt whether she'd even had any reiatsu or magic to begin with. She had nothing left in her now, all strength leaving her at the realization that it was truly over now.

Grimmjow snorted in amusement. "That's the understatement of the fucking year." He said. When he felt she was beginning to slip a little, he squeezed her just a little tighter. "You need something to eat." He stated. It wasn't a question or a suggestion, it was a fact.

And she knew that all too well herself - she really did. She could feel the pulsating pain from her back now the adrenaline had left her and knew it would only get worse. There was just one thing…

"I know, but…" She glanced really quickly towards Fairy Tail. "Not here." She simply told him. By the way he rolled his eyes, she knew he knew what she really meant.

Hhe wasn't the one to protest it though. "Luce." Natsu spoke up behind her, drawing her attention. "We already know." He told her, making her eyes go wide. The way Grimmjow shrugged revealed he was the culprit. While she glared at the only thing keeping her upright, the Fire Dragon Slayer continued, taking a step forward. "Isn't it about time you show us the real you? - that's the Luce we really want." He said, steadily maintaining eye-contact with her.

This was one of those few but very precious moments, where that idiot would show how deep he could really be. It rendered her speechless, even as her gaze left his and slid over everyone else. They all seemed to agree.

She was both very happy and very sad at the same time. She still didn't want to show them this side of her, but she was eternally grateful for their support.

Finally, she sighed heavily. "Fine.." She reluctantly agreed. Just this once, she would throw all cards on the table. But only because they actually went and asked for it.

Making sure she could support herself first, Grimmjow let go of her with a nod. "I'll get you one. Just wait here." He told her, before disappearing through a Garganta.

"Not that I really have a choice." Se grumbled to herself, crossing her arms.

"Lucy! Let me heal you!" Orihime energetically said as she came running over in a flailing manner.

Lucy smiled and shook her head, making the girl stop in her tracks. "There's no need for that - the Hollow will do just fine." She reassured the girl. "Besides, you must be exhausted as well." She said, looking at the girl softly. "I really can't thank you enough for all this, Orihime. You are amazing." She told the girl earnestly. She really was. Not only would it have been utterly impossible for her to defeat Aizen if it wasn't for her, but worst of all, Gajeel and Levy's…

"I… It's nothing, really, I'm fine." The young girl promised the blonde.

"It's not nothing, Orihime." Lucy quickly cut the girl off sternly. "You did something no one else could ever do - I can never repay you for this." She told the girl, who could only flush and begin rubbing her hands together at lack of anything better to do with them.

"You know, I'd actually really appreciate knowing what the hall happened with my Shrimp and why that girl's powers were used on her." Gajeel growled at the two as he helped the now-conscious bluenette up again. "And why in the hell did that make a difference at all with that guy?" he added, nodding towards Aizen's head at her feet.

She glanced down, only to look back up at the Iron Dragon Slayer. Could it be possible that… He didn't know then? He hadn't pieced it together it seemed and Levy had been unconscious so if she didn't know either, she didn't stand a chance.

Well, given the circumstances, that actually probably was for the best, honestly.

She looked at the pair softly. "As I'm sure you've both figured out, he was here to collect 100 souls for that transformation." She started out, decided to just take it from the beginning. When she got a pair of nods, she continued. "He had gotten 98 when he reached you all and Gin stepped in. Everyone back in town is gone…" She took a deep breath, not wanting to dwell on that too long. "He did that simply with his presence and the reiatsu he naturally exuded. Since none of them had any magic to protect themselves with, the exposure killed them immediately." She explained slowly.

"So… Because we've got magic, we survived this?" Gray asked for clarification.

She looked to him and nodded, actually pretty sure he'd caught on already. "Exactly." She confirmed. "And then Freed's barrier also kept a lot of it out. But… Not all of it.." She trailed off, turning to the couple again.

"That's great and all, but we've all got magic in here, so we shouldn't be affected, right?" Gajeel asked, getting annoyed in his frustration. "Besides, he needed two souls." He added.

Levy seemed to finally have caught on, a hand resting on her belly as she stared straight ahead with wide eyes. "But someone who isn't fully developed in magic yet would be…" She trailed off.

Lucy nodded lightly as Gajeel looked at the both of them, confused still. "Yes, children still in the womb wouldn't have enough magic to resist it either." She confirmed, smiling as tears built on Levy's face and Gajeel looked increasingly worried. She looked to the poor Dragon Slayer. "Looks like you'll be the father of two healthy children, Gajeel." She finally told him.

He stared at the blonde for a moment, his jaw drooping slightly. "Twins…?" he asked out loud, turning to his petite, little mate, who looked up at him with a tearful smile. Gradually, smiles grew wider on each of their faces as they stared into each other's eyes like that. "Yeah, I'll take that." He spoke for the both of them, then immediately drew the bouncing, little form into his arms.

Lucy smiled at the two. That really just was absolutely adorable. There was way too little of that kind of things back in Hueco, honestly.

Knowing a certain question would pop up sooner or later, she decided to simply answer it now, putting a light hand on Orihime's shoulder. "Thanks to Orihime, here, they will both be absolutely fine after all of this. She managed to bring them back without a scratch on them." She explained, pushing the young girl in question towards the two.

The two simultaneously turned to the blushing girl, looks of understanding and eternal gratitude shining on their faces.

Levy was the first to break free and approach the girl, taking both of her hands in her own. "Thank you so, so much, Orihime. Thank you." The usually so sharp woman said, completely at a loss for words. Yet, the look in her eyes said so much more than words themselves ever could.

Orihime blushed even more furiously, getting increasingly fidgety as well. "I-it's nothing…" She said, though her voice was too weak to have even a bit of conviction in it.

Gajeel appeared behind Levy, shaking his head from side to side at that. "No, it's actually a whole goddamn lot, squirt." He corrected her without even an ounce of doubt.

Levy nodded in agreement. "If there's anything we can ever do for you, just ask." She said, seemingly figuring the same as Lucy did - that they could never repay that girl for what she'd done here.

Orihime looked from one to the other, as flustered as ever. "Th-thank you…" Was all she could manage to say, before averting her eyes. But it was enough, as it brought smiles to the couple's faces.

While she smiled at the sight, she felt Gin approaching from behind. "Say, Lucy." He said, coming to a stop right next to her just as someone in Fairy Tail declared that this was cause for celebration. "I'm pretty impressed with the line-up ya brought here. Did ya figure all this would happen from the start?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Not really." She told him. "It was really just coincidental that I happened to run into Ichigo and Orihime. I figured Ichigo's skills would work well with Grim's and Orihime is obviously a formidable healer." She explained as they both looked at the girl. "As for Rangiku, well…" She deliberately trailed off, looking up at him instead. "I figured you two might want to see each other after all this time." She said with a little smile.

A smirk grew on his face as he seemed to return her gaze. "Yer just as damn sharp as he was." He simply said, turning around to return to the Shinigami woman again. They both knew exactly who 'he' was even without his name being mentioned.

Before she could protest the comparison however, a Garganta opened up above them. Grimmjow soon popped out of it, dragging a big, black blob of Hollow after him. He easily dropped the giant thing down at the ground beside them.

Apart from a few of them, none of the mages had seen a pure Hollow like this one before. And even then, it was only her from back then. Adjuchas could get really, damn big. So yeah, they were all basically gaping as him much smaller form landed right next to it.

Grimmjow spread his arms out with a grin. "It's a feast!" He declared proudly. From the feel of things, it looked like he'd gotten himself something to eat back there as well. That would explain why it took so goddamn long for him too.

She crossed her arms, sending him a chilly glare. "You just had to go and pick the biggest damn one you could find, didn't you?" She asked him with a sigh. This was so typical of him.

"Yep!" He said with a proud grin. "And he was pretty, fucking strong too, so he should be enough to heal you all up, Kitten." He added.

Glancing at the thing, she couldn't help thinking it didn't look like it'd been much of a match for him, though. The fight between them had been short, judging by the minimal amount of injuries it had - only just enough to kill it.

She sighed and approached it and him. "Sure, if you say so." Whether it was or not, they could always go get some more later. When she wasn't in front of all these people.

Trying to ignore the feeling of all their eyes on her back, she came to a stop next to the Espada. Now she was so close, she could really feel her hunger move in her. He was definitely right, she really needed this right now.

She breathed out deeply, trying to calm herself just a little. Well, might as well get this over with as fast as possible. Then, before she could change her mind, she began her 'feast'.

Doing just as Grimmjow had back at their wing, she bit into the grand thing and basically inhaled it. It was faster and far less messy than how they'd do it as Adjuchas. And also far less scarring to those watching.

Though the Hollow was big, it took only a moment for her to eat it all up. She could feel the many injuries she had heal all around her and closing. All except for Aizen's hit on her lower back, that was. That couldn't heal completely. Well, she probably didn't mind it too much. It served as a good reminder of them man and all that he had done.

"Well…" That was far different from what I expected it to be." Cana muttered, getting sound of agreement from the others.

Lucy turned, smiling amusedly at them all. "These are simply to me what flames are to Natsu." She explained, knowing that was exactly what they had all been thinking of right then.

Grimmjow huffed beside her. "Well, you didn't make much of a show of it either." He actually had the audacity to grumble.

She glared at him and stomped his foot before he had time to move it. "Shut up." She hissed at him angrily while he cursed her under his breath.

"So you're all healed up now..?" Natsu asked, a hopeful look in is eyes as he seemed to scan her completely from head to toe.

Even for him, it'd be impossible to tell through the clots of blood all over her. "Yes. After a little bath, I'll be good as new." She confirmed.

She could feel Grimmjow's gaze run down her back. "Not entirely." He grumbled, seeing the scar on her back. Repeating earlier success, she stomped his foot again. "Ow! Goddammit, woman. Stop that shit!" He growled, to which he earned himself a glare.

Their banter was halted when her pointed whip entered her line of sight. Though dry and stiff now, many of the tips, especially ear the end, were dyed in crimson red.

She gently took the curled up weapon from the armored hand it had been gathered in. "Thank you, Erza." She thanked the redheaded knight, holding it in her own hands instead.

Erza nodded, looking a little uncomfortable from having held that weapon. It's appearance reeked with the intent to kill - much more so than her swords did. Hers fought to protect, Lucy's wasn't quite like that…

She sighed as she looked down at the zanpakuto that was hers. "You know, Aizen was right about some of the things he said." She said quietly, speaking to no one in particular, knowing everyone's attention was already on her. She gripped the whip tightly. "I am not the same Lucy I was back then." She announced, finally re-clasping the weapon at her hip, returning to her un-released form again. "Though I finally accepted that, I can't expect forgiveness from anyone." She said.

Yes… She had finally accepted who and what she was now, rather than deluding herself into thinking she was the same as always. That was what allowed her to become a Vasto Lorde; her acceptance of the reality. Even though she accepted it though, she wasn't sure she could ever forgive herself for all the things she had done either.

"Now, listen here, Bunny-Girl" Gajeel said, stepping forward, towards her. "I realize you've done some back things and all, but so did I. everyone forgave me just fine, so why shouldn't they do that to you?" He asked her pointedly, gesturing to Levy. The woman he had once tortured till she was unrecognizable, yet now had and loved as his mate.

It was true Fairy Tail forgave a lot of things. But even they had their limits.

She sighed and shook her head. "No, our situations are different, Gajeel." She said, explaining just what she meant before he could get around to protest. "You were foe turned into friend, I was friend turned into foe." She told him. She'd basically betrayed them, in a way.

Mira decided to gently speak up. "Lucy, your friend explained the situation to us. You weren't yourself back then, right? It wasn't really you who did it." She argued.

Lucy sighed lightly again. "Even if you don't count the things I did then, I have still done countless unforgivable things." She shot back. "I have betrayed people who trusted me." She started out, glancing at Orihime. "I have manipulated people, I have hurt them, I have tortured them and I have killed them. Numerous times." She explained. "It's the nature of a Hollow and it's the nature of the world I have been thrown into. Where survival of the fittest reigns supreme. Had I not done those things and become what I have become, I wouldn't have lived to see you all again. But that still doesn't mean it's right." She explained.

She didn't really.. Regret it, per se. She knew that was simply how things had to be. You couldn't expect to survive Hueco Mundo if you went into it not prepared to get your hands - or claws - bloody and work for it. Luckily, she'd had Grimmjow to teach her that.

"And that's why I don't expect anything from any of you for what I have done." She finished off. None of them should feel obligated into forgiving her, simply because she'd been a Fairy once. It couldn't be forced like that.

"I don't give a damn." Gajeel declared loudly. "That whole battle I just saw right in front of me proved that much." He stated, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

Juvia nodded as well. "Juvia agrees. Love-Rival is still Love-Rival, even if she's different." The Rain Woman agreed.

Erza did the same, her hands resting at her hips. "Indeed. You fought like a true Fairy - never giving up in the face of adversity." She added.

Natsu pumped one of his fists, his trademark grin back on his face. "You need to fight me one day, Luce!" He told her, excitement running through him and setting his fist ablaze.

"Yeah, it was pretty damn cool how you shielded Levy too." Gray piped in, making everyone go silent immediately.

She was deeply touched by their words, even bringing her to speechlessness. However, it all grew silent when the petite Scrip mage's name was called out.

Lucy turned her gaze to the one she called her best friend. "Levy…" She called out to the woman, who was staring down at the ground intensely, never meeting the blonde's gaze, even as she came to a stop right in front of her. "What I did to Jet and Droy… What I did to _you,_ I can never apologize enough for. No matter what I do, it can never be enough to repent for what I did back then." She said, watching with a frown as the first tear trailed down her friend's pearly cheek. Without a sound, she fell to her knees in front of the girl. "So, if you want to punish me for it, you can. I just ask that you keep it to only being me, though that will never be the same as watching a loved one die, but… Grimmjow and the others have nothing to do with this." She said, ignoring the surprised mutterings all around them. She closed her eyes and dropped her head. "So, please. Even if you wish to kill me, that will be fine."

Everyone audibly gasped at that, even the girl herself. "L-Lu…!" Was all she could say at those words she'd received.

Though many obviously protested that idea, one in particular stood out. "No, FUCK that shit! I won't let that little, fucking girl kill you now, just like that, Kitten. No." Grimmjow spoke up, clearly approaching them.

She quickly whirled around and glared at him. "You will accept it whatever it may be!" She yelled back at him, though the words were meant for everyone else as well. The conviction that shone in her eyes made the Espada stop where he was and just stare. "I have to do this, you know I do." She said much more calmly, sending him an apologetic look as she turned back to the bluenette expectantly.

The young soon-to-be mother simply stared at the blonde, then around at everyone around them - who'd gone silent at Lucy's outburst - as if searching for the answer in them.

He silence lay around them like a thick layer of tension, only broken by the flash of a golden light. "Lucy! You have been summoned by the two Spirit Kings!" Loke called out to her from behind.

* * *

 **Well done, Loke. You ruined the moment entirely and completely. Just as Gin did in the beginning.**

 **So yeah, a lot happened. Levy and Gajeel're getting twins, Lucy accepted her current self and her past, Fairy Tail know a bit more about who she is and the war is truly over.  
And then, of course this happens. What could the Spirit Kings of the two worlds wish to talk to her about so suddenly?**

 **Well, as always, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and, of course, commenting! I love you to bits and pieces!**

 **~Line464d**


	31. Chapter 31 - Her Decision

**Chapter 31 - Her Decision**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: Bleach is Kubo's and Fairy Tail is Mashima's. Now, this mix of things would be mine, then. I suppose. (?)**

* * *

"So this is place is a part of Soul Society then?" Lucy asked as she looked around at the Spirit King of this world's palace halls while walking down them. With how grand they were they honestly seemed much more like large streets rather than halls - you could easily fit a train or two in each of them.

When Loke had appeared as he had he made it clear that the matter she was asked to attend was an urgent one, so she didn't let the two kings wait. She couldn't really.

However that also meant she'd left for this place before Levy had given her any kind of answer. Well, it seemed the girl had needed some time to think anyway, so it would probably be okay..

"Yes, in a matter of speaking." Her personal guide through this maze of a palace told her. Ichibe Hyousuke was his name.

He was part of the Spirit King's Royal Guard; the leader, in fact. He was very tall and bulky - very much like Jura. He was bald and had a big beard that strutted out in every direction. He wore a big grin and a just as big, red, beaded necklace at all times, from what she could see. His uniform was pretty similar to that of the Shinigami Captains.

The guy quickly continued his explanation. "However, it is completely inaccessible to all but the few, who have been given permission to set foot in here." He told her almost reverently - he clearly liked his job. "This is why we could not let you be accompanied by your friend, Grimmjow, I'm afraid." He said apologetically.

She shook her head at that with a smile. "It's probably for the best he's not here - he'd just mess something up or start a fight with someone." She said amusedly. That guy just couldn't help himself if he got the chance.

Loke, who was also still with her, shook his head dramatically and brought his hands to his face in despair. "Oh, what a sin to let my poor princess associate with such a ruffian. I have failed my duty as your protector!" He cried out.

She rolled her eyes at his familiar and barely missed antics. "He's no different than Natsu in that regard, you know." She reminded him. In some ways, the two were kind of similar. Seemed that was just her type.

The Lion Spirit dropped the act and gave her a soft smile instead. With a light shrug, he basically told her that he knew that already.

Leaving that be, she turned to the Royal Guard. "Say, Ichibe…" She started out, getting his attention. "Do you know why the two Spirit Kings summoned me…?" She asked him, a little confused about the reason behind their sudden summoning. "Did I do something wrong?" She continued to ask.

The guy looked almost surprised at her worries. "Hardly. You have done better that anyone could expect from you in your given situation." He told her reassuringly before looking ahead at the path before them. "No, rather I imagine it will have something to do with the matter of your complicated and intricate death. You have nothing to worry about." He said, giving her one of his cheery grins.

She smiled back at him faintly, then turned away again. "I sure hope you're right about that…" She said. With everything she' been through this very day, she wasn't sure she was ready for any new problems yet. She just wanted a break, honestly. She didn't wat any more shit she had to deal with.

She sighed, then followed Ichibe down another long corridor, which seemed even bigger than the previous one. At the end of it was a gigantic gate, decorated beautifully with golden swirls on the deep, purple base. Behind it, she could feel the two big presences she figured had to be the two kings in question.

Though before that, she could see Genryusai, the Captain Commander of the Shinigami, standing as straight as his old form allowed. She honestly wasn't surprised he of all people was allowed up here as well.

The old man turned his head when he noticed their approach, then sent them a gentle and calm smile. She simply gave him a nod in return, not in the mood to really smile at the moment.

She didn't really want it to be like this, but she really just couldn't shake the feeling that something absolutely horrible was going to happen in there…

"Lucy, dear, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person." The Captain Commander said, keeping the gentle smile up despite everything.

She looked at him with a slight frown. Was he trying to patronize her? "Are you really sure you should let your guard down against and enemy like me?" She asked him, glancing down at the hand he held out to her.

His smile never faltered the slightest. "I do not worry; you are not the person to do something like that." He confidently announced. "Even our Captain Zaraki would know not to do anything of the sort in a place like this." He added.

She sighed inwardly as she relented and shook his hand. It was like they hadn't just fought an entire damn war against each other.

"Sure." She simply replied, ending that topic there. "So why exactly is it you are here?" She asked him. She got the feeling that those two in there only wanted to talk to her right now. The fact that Loke looked confused by his presence here as well only proved that that claim seemed to be the right one.

His smile seemed to broaden some. "Simply to see you off as you go in there to the two of them - and in case you will need anything of the Shinigami or myself afterwards." He casually told her. His kind expression then faltered some. "And also to confirm that the vision I had was no lie." He explained, his old eyes meeting hers.

She stared right back at him, unfazed. "It is true. The one you saw in front of Rangiku and I was Warren, a mage of Fairy Tail. It was his telepathy that made it possible." She confirmed for him. Hadn't he had a chance to talk to any of the other Captains before coming her? - that should prove it well enough of its own. Maybe he didn't trust it even then.

Ichibe nodded beside her. "You have nothing to worry about, Captain Commander. What she said is the truth - Aizen Sousuke is truly dead." He confirmed.

She glanced up at the big guy. Why was she even surprised they knew that? She turned back to Genryusai with a single nod. "Yes, his body is still at Earthland as well. Figured you guys would want to have a look and get rid of it yourself." She explained, her arms crossed in front of her.

He slowly nodded, accepting all that to be the truth now that they both confirmed it for him. "I see.." He trailed off thoughtfully. "That is an impressive job. I commend you." He said.

She furrowed her eyebrows a little. "I didn't do it alone. Grimmjow, Gin, Ichigo and Orihime all played vital parts in taking him down." She told him firmly. The lesser but still important parts were played by Rangiku and Fairy Tai. She did not do this in the slightest.

He seemed to genuinely smile at that. "Of course." He simply replied, kind of pissing her off with the direct response. She couldn't figure out what that old fart was thinking.

Any further conversation was cut short when they all felt a shift from the presences in the other room, announcing their preparedness for the meeting to commence.

Loke turned to her with a little smile, clearly getting the same feeling about all of this that she did. "Looks like it's your time to shine, Princess." He said encouragingly. Well, she couldn't fault him for trying.

Ichibe nodded, stepping up to the big gates. "Indeed, it is." He agreed, putting a hand on one door. With a push, it ominously creaked open. "Please enter, Miss Lucy." He said, gesturing for her to go inside.

As she began approaching the doors, Genryusai also spoke up. "The best of luck in there, dear." He kindly added as she passed him.

She sighed, glancing around at all three of them. "Yeah, thanks." She told them, giving them a thankful nod before slipping into the darkness behind the gates.

The door immediately closed behind her, leaving her in total blackness for a moment, save for the two illuminous presences before her.

One was the big form of the Spirit King she knew - moustache and all - and the other… Well, the other would have to be the one of Earth.

In comparison to Earthland's Spirit King, it - as Ichibe referred to them - was very underwhelming. It was simply a pale body without arms or legs and slicked back, black hair. With the neutral facial features it had, she wasn't even sure if it was a gender or not, which would explain why it was referred to as 'it'. The only thing was that its sclera was disturbingly black and it seemed caught up in some kind of bubble of some sort, keeping it afloat. Without arms or legs, that was its only choice though. It wasn't much bigger than her in size either.

What it lacked of impact in appearance, it certainly made up for in presence. That alone was enough to command total authority in a way not even Earthland's Spirit King did.

"Lucy Heartfilia." Earth's Spirit King spoke up, its voice echoing off the walls hidden behind the veil of darkness. "Step closer." It ordered.

She did as told and came to a stop right at their feet, keeping quiet despite her overwhelming curiosity and gnawing worry for what this was all about.

Stache-face turned to her with a grin. "Oh, child. My oldest friend has been so worried for you. It pleases me to see you are doing so well for yourself!" He said cheerily.

She couldn't help smiling a little at his almost childish happiness. "I am honored you and Leo worry for me at all." She formally replied, bowing lightly to him. She had no clue how to act in this situation at all.

He laughed at her politeness. Honestly, had she just been with the one she knew, she would definitely relax so much mote; he was so easy to be around even though he had the title he did. The other one seemed so uptight.

He grinned widely down at her, showing off his glowing teeth. "Naturally everyone would with how you suddenly seemed to disappear like you did. Imagine our horror when we found out you had ended up in this place." He said, putting a strange emphasis on the last two words.

Well, it was true this place was so widely different from Earthland's place. It didn't suit her at all to begin with either, but it had actually managed to grow on her.

Earth's Spirit King turned to Earthland's, its eyes narrowed in its first show of emotion. "And what exactly am I to understand from those words of yours?" It asked him sharply.

Stache-face brought a hand to his weird beard, twirling it around his finger like a girl would her hair. "Oh, you know…" He trailed off, the words that were left unsaid transparently clear to all three of them. He turned to her, his grin back full-force. "As Ichibe said, you have done remarkably here, child." He commended her once again, to which she just smiled and nodded in gratitude.

Her attention switched to the other Spirit King when it turned to her as well. "Indeed. Especially considering where you have come from." It agreed with a completely blank face, not even twitching as the giant whirled to it.

His grin replaced by a clenched jaw, the Spirit King looked down at the other, his eyes burning a hole in its skull. "What's that supposed to mean?!" He bellowed loudly, making her struggle to keep her balance because of it for a moment.

The other Spirit King naturally kept completely calm and unflinching even in the face of that volume. "Oh, you know." It replied curtly, copying what he had said moments ago.

She couldn't help the smile that crept up to her face at their bantering. Two such powerful beings and then they were arguing just like small children. It did well to make her relax in their presences though.

"Anywho." Earth's Spirit King said, cutting their argument short there while Earthland's still fumed in anger. "As I know you surmised already, these worlds are parallel to each other." It went straight ahead and explained.

Yes, that was what she figured they were, though it would be wrong to say she 'knew' it per se. Either way, she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought it was something like with Edolas." She said, glancing towards Earthland's Spirit King for confirmation.

The gigantic guy nodded, a serious expression draped over his face. "Yes, it's just like with Edolas, though it isn't as closely connected to our world." He explained, making her think back on their twin-like counterparts over there.

She brought a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "There are still some pretty obvious similarities though." She said, thinking of the likeness between Ichigo and Natsu and herself and Orihime. They were exact replicas of each other, honestly.

"Naturally, there would be." The Spirit King of Earth stated blankly. "However just as with Edolas, these two worlds were never meant to meet as they have." It told her.

She felt that thing she had been fearing all this time fall to her heart and tugging at it painfully. So this was what this was all about…

"An unexpected rift appeared between our worlds without our noticing it." It explained. "A year ago, Aizen Sousuke stumbled upon this rift when he was patrolling the Dangai. Curious as he was, he explored the rift and jumped through - the catalyst to our current problems." It said. Had it had any arms, she was without a doubt that they'd be crossed right now.

She looked at it with a frown. Their problems? So she had done something wrong after all..?

Seeing her expression, Stache-face elaborated on the topic. "Just like you did, a few others have switched places upon their death as a cause of the rift widening." He told her, easing her worries for now. "Unfortunately, unlike you, many do not function well in these other worlds. They simply do not fit in at all." He explained.

Her head spun at that revelation "So… Some of the people I killed back then…. Are here, at Hueco or Soul Society..?" She asked, feeling the need to hug herself in worry. She had no clue how to feel about that.

Earth's Spirit King nodded. "Yes. I have recorded that even some mages from your world were transferred here - though not all some you were the cause of." It confirmed curtly.

She sighed heavily. "I see.." She muttered to herself.

"You have no reason to worry. The chances of you meeting and recognizing any of them is miniscule at best." It reassured her, though it was doubtful that was even the intent. "And they will not know who you are either, as they have died without anyone doing anything so grotesquely immoral with their memories." It added, getting another jab in at the other Spirit King in the process.

Once again, he turned a glare towards it. "Just because your subordinates don't grow to love the living as mine do doesn't mean you can go around and speak so rudely of them whenever they do something you don't agree with." He told it harshly.

It didn't even glance in his direction. "Rukia Kuchiki loves Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue plenty." It argued coolly. "However they still know not to mess with the dying in such a crucial way." It said, finally looking up at its much bigger counterpart almost challengingly.

"Is that why your subordinates run around sharing their immortal powers with the mortals, then?" He asked sharply. It gave him no reply.

These two… They were just like Natsu and Gray, though more verbal in their fights than physical. None of them would easily admit defeat to the other, their pride simply wouldn't allow for it.

And, well, it had even entertaining to begin with but right now, with the mood they had established in her, she didn't feel like listening to their petty bickering.

She looked between the two with worry. "So what exactly are you going to do to prevent any more from switching worlds?" She asked them, regaining their attention.

From the looks they sent her, she got the feeling she wouldn't like the solution they had come up with the slightest.

Stache-face was the one to answer her question. "Unfortunately, there is only one thing that can and should be done about this…" He trailed off, looking at her apologetically.

Getting annoyed with how long he was taking, the other Spirit King picked up where the first left off. "We are going to close the rift between our worlds, of course." It nonchalantly told her.

Her jaw dropped as she continued to stare up at it, its words not truly registering in her head, yet at the same time she understood completely what they meant.

"In doing this, it will be completely impossible to ever travel between Earth and Earthland." Stache-face told her, his expression telling her he knew exactly what went through her head.

Which meant she'd never be able to see everyone again. This would be the last chance…

She looked up at the two, mustering up whatever was left in her. "So… What is going to happen to all of us, who have switched worlds?" She asked them slowly, already pretty sure she knew the answer to her own question.

"Those who have already been misplaced will continue to stay where they are." The Spirit King of Earth told her straightforwardly. "Those from Earthland who have come here have already gained reiatsu, just as you have, and likewise the other way around. As you know, it will kill them to rip it from them at this point." It stated.

She nodded slowly. Of course she knew - it had always been like that whether she was alive or dead. If you lost all your magic or reiatsu - truly emptied of it in a way that could not be done naturally - it would kill you. That was something everyone who had either one knew hopefully.

Stache-face nodded along. "Yes, that alone is reason enough for us not to do anything about it - we simply cannot do anything." He supplied, pausing shortly before continuing. "Adding that to the fact that it is only a little handful of people - maybe ten or so from each world - who have been switched, such an action is a bit too grand." He added.

She nodded slowly, following what he was saying silently. She wasn't aware it was only so few - considering it had been an entire year. It was probably because the rift was still so little. If so, it made sense they would do nothing about them. It also definitely explained why it was only just now those two decided to do something about it though.

"None of them have any memories of their original worlds either." Earth's Spirit King added. "They may and likely will experience some sense of lingering emotions of not truly fitting in, however with time and the right people these will also disappear - just as they seem to have done with you." It explained to her, completely ignoring the glare the other Spirit King sent it.

Not knowing what to do with herself, she rubbed her arm lightly as she looked up at the two. "So… Will I get the chance to say goodbye to everyone before you close the rift or will you be doing that right after this is done?" She asked them, squeezing her arm in an effort to keep her faint trembling to a minimum.

"Whichever you will choose, you will get the chance to have a proper farewell with the other. The lack of this was what made you a wandering soul to begin with after all." It confirmed for her.

She frowned at its words. "'Whichever I will choose'?" She repeated what it said, her previous trembling temporarily forgotten to make pace for her confusion instead.

Earthland's Spirit King nodded, a little smile on his big face. "Unlike all the others, you, child, have kept your memories of your past life. You are connected to and have memories of both worlds in a way no one else does." He told her, kneeling down to reach something that was closer to her height. "That is why we are going to let you choose where you will spend the rest of your afterlife." He told her softly.

The other one nodded. "Will you stay here, at Hueco Mundo with Grimmjow and the other Espada, or will you go back to Earthland and become a Spirit with a key, as was originally intended for you?" It asked her, laying out her choices in front of her.

She looked between the two of them, her eyes widening each time they alternated from one to the other. They were serious about this. "Y-you want me to choose?" She repeated once again. She couldn't believe they were telling her to do what she thought she just heard them tell her to.

"Yes." Earth's Spirit King quickly confirmed, paying no mind to what she was going through.

How could they make her do something like this? How could she possibly pick between those? That was…

"Should you decide to stay here, you will be able to mold Hueco Mundo into the world you wish for it to be with Grimmjow at your side. You will be able to reign that world and all the Hollows in it as you see fit as its queen, and no one will ever doubt your strength again." It told her, almost as if trying to convince her to pick that.

How could they have the heart to make her pick between them? How could she ever possibly come up with an answer? She couldn't…

"You will without a doubt bring astronomical changes to the world known as Hueco Mundo." It told her reverently, as if it could see exactly what was going to happen already. "Of course, if that is not what you wish to do, you can also hand over the reins to someone else and go back to the easy life you and Grimmjow led as Adjuchas. To finally get a break from everything." It added. "You can do whatever you want."

She would never see the other side ever again. How could they ask her to shut out people she loved so dearly so easily? Couldn't they understand…

While she struggled to find out just how to reply to all that - something she hadn't had the chance to consider at all - Earthland's Spirit King also decided to give his side of things.

"Well, if you choose to return to us, as you were always supposed to, you will be able to see the Zodiac and all the other Spirits you know and love whenever you wish. Why, even your family, Fairy Tail too." He told her with a grin.

Now she'd finally gotten them back, she couldn't imagine not being able to see Fairy Tail ever again. She'd missed them so, so much.

"Of course, with your reiatsu, you cannot merely become an ordinary silver key. No, just like with Ophiuchus, we will create one solely for you. The key of the Fairy! What do you think?" He asked as if it was an idea that popped into his head just now.

At times, the hope that she would see them once again had been the only thing pulling her through everything and not giving up prematurely.

"Natsu will, of course, be the first bearer of your key. You will be able to see him and everyone else again, go on mission with Team Natsu, party for three weeks straight - have unrestricted fun whenever you want!" He said, beaming like the sun itself.

And what about Fairy Tail if she just up and disappeared like that again? How would that make them feel? Would Natsu go and become even more depressed? - She couldn't possibly let that happen, especially not now he'd just showed signs of recovery.

Earth's Spirit King snorted. "Who would willingly choose a place where your strength will never truly be appreciated?" It harshly asked, the question more so directed at the other Spirit King than at her.

But what about Grimmjow, then? She couldn't just leave him either. Not after everything he'd done for her.

"Like your world's fixation on power is any better. In the Spirit World, and even more so at Fairy Tail, it is not how strong you are that matters; it's who you are. You will not find that same unrestricted love anywhere else."

Just a few hours ago she'd told Nnoitora she would never leave him Grimmjow and she'd meant it. She couldn't leave him all alone, he didn't have anything but her.

"Neither will you the same absolute weakness. Your people can do nothing with their soft and loving hearts in the face of true power."

He needed her. She needed him. She couldn't do something like that to him after all this time.

"Maybe so, but neither do we allow for or rely on such savageness the way your people do. That beast-like brutality truly thrives in your world - both among the living and the dead."

But then what was she supposed to do? She had to hurt one of them. Whatever she chose, she would never _ever_ see the other side again. She had to make the decision. This impossible choice.

"Perhaps. But what will your people do once they are faced with people, who will not be swayed by their sweet talk of peace and harmony? Such people exist everywhere, even if you try to deny it."

They were really making her do this. They were really forcing her to choose. She couldn't believe this…

"I will have you know the mages of my world have yet to fail in dealing with such people. They are well-equipped to deal with anything thrown at them one way or the other. It may be at the last second, but they will always pull through."

This wasn't a choice she could just make.

"Sure, but what if that mean-"

"Would the both of you just shut up already?!" She yelled at them, her hands covering her ears in a weak attempt to block them out - a failed attempt. She couldn't think clearly with such an unnecessarily loud argument right in front of her.

The two immediately clamped their mouths shut at her blunt yell - more so in shock of her audacity than because she'd asked them to. "A brazen little thing, that one." Earth's Spirit King whispered to Earthland's, who could only nod in agreement.

Not giving a damn about what either of them thought of her at this point, she glared straight up at the both of them. "How the hell can you ask me to do something like this?" She asked them, a question she burned to have answered. "How can you expect me to choose between the people I love so coldly?!" She once again yelled. It was unfair to put such a burden on her shoulders. It had been so much easier when they just dictated what she should do as they did with all the others.

Earthland's Spirit King kneeled down once again upon seeing her inner turmoil manifest and run down her cheeks. "I understand that it is a touch decision to make on the spot like this - especially when you have had such a tough day already and you are tired, but it is one that has to be made." He said, putting a reassuring hand on her tiny, trembling shoulder.

She looked up at him through a blurry vision. "If you know all that, then why do you force me to choose like this?" She asked him.

However, it was the other Spirit King, who answered her repeated question. "Because you did not get the choice before - you were unjustly thrust into a world you were in no way or fashion prepared to face. This time, we decided you deserved the choice to decide your own fate for once." It told her, almost with a kind of soft-ish voice.

She sighed shakily, rubbing the unneeded water out of her eyes as she gathered her thoughts. She understood what they were saying, she got what they were thinking and she knew that it was truly an act of kindness and the utmost respect from them.

But knowing that didn't make the choice any easier.

It was a choice between people she loved and would grow to love so dearly. A choice between an old family and a new. A choice between one life and another. A choice that was impossible for anyone to make just like that - yet that was what she had to do.

On one hand, she could come close to returning to her old life again. She could more or less go back to her worry-free life of going on myriads of missions with Natsu, Happy, Gray and Erza as she so missed to do. Once again laughing at and somehow dealing with each of their weird quirks that they would never try to mute the way Earth's people seemed to do. Not have to worry so much about what the people seemed to think about her and be able to relax in who she was, no matter where she was.

Most of all, she never had to question the ethics and morale of what she was doing - they would always find the right way to do things, even if it was the long way around. She wouldn't have to do things that, deep down, went against what she wanted to do. She wouldn't have to face that savageness and brutality every day of her life.

On the other hand though, she'd had her run at Earthland. She had died and moved on, created a completely new life for herself. Every day was a bit of a mystery in Hueco Mundo - you never truly knew what it would bring the same way you did at Earthland. There was absolutely no predictability in it. It was so much more dangerous and savage, yes, but that was also part of what made it so exciting and thrilling somehow. It made you appreciate every day you had in a whole other way.

She'd also met a lot of exciting and wonderful people there as well - she honestly couldn't wait to learn more about them and even meet some of the other people there that she had yet to. People like Orihime, Rangiku, Ichigo, Rukia, Hitsugaya, Ulquiorra and Harribel, just to name a few of those she especially hoped to know better. Besides, who else could say they had tried living in another world the way she had? It was a golden opportunity that was hard to pass up on.

And that was all without mentioning Grimmjow. A man she had come to care for so deeply. Who had stuck with her through everything. Who had supported her in every way and appreciated her strength in a way she had never experienced before. Who had treated her as his equal and partner, not like a damsel to be saved. A man she had come to need as her only support and that she had a hard time having the heart to leave. Especially after promising not to.

But Hueco was not a walk in a flowery field - even if the Spirit King thought it could be. Even if she handed over the title as queen, she was already far too deep into everything to could back out of it again if she stayed there.

And unlike at Earthland, she had actually created enemies there - and they would only grow in number after the revelation of Aizen's death.

Nnoitora would undoubtedly goad the avid followers of Aizen's - like Loly and Menoly - into joining him in going against her. She knew many would join him too, because power truly was everything in Hueco and that was exactly what he had given them when he turned them into Arrancar.

Then there was also Renji. She knew that guy would never forgive her for having deceived them, no matter what she did to try to rectify it. And just like Nnoitora, he would grow a Shinigami following, which would be against her. Probably through the excuse that she was not from this world or something similar.

Returning to Earthland would spare her from having to face that kind of thing. She didn't directly have any enemies there - there were only the enemies of Fairy Tail. And those guys, she didn't mind at all.

Yet, if she stayed there, she would have to face Levy and everyone else she did those horrible things to every single day. That event would go down in the history of Earthland, especially since she apparently wasn't the only one who'd gone to Earth. Unless the Shinigami had found a way in, they would all have become Hollows like her, after all…

It begged the question of whether she would ever truly be able to fit into Earthland again with the backpack she was carrying around now.

Yet again, what was that in comparison to getting an entire world filled with savage beasts, who hated to listen to reason, back on its feet again?

She sighed out loud, rubbing her temples in discomfort. The more she thought about it, the more painstakingly clear did her choice appear.

Without looking up at the two kings, she spoke. "I've made my decision."

* * *

 **Daaaaaaaamn…! What do you guys think her choice will be? - and what would you have chosen had you been in her shoes?**

 **Looking back at my previous story as well, I have some strange addiction to having her pick and choose between the place she'd prefer to be, huh? In that point (almost alone), this and 'Basket and Stars' kinda look like each other. Other than that though, there aren't a lot of similarities…  
I suggest you give it a try, if you haven't already, of course. I have to say this, you know I do.**

 **So what do you all think? - I hope you like the chapter even though it may not be the most happy-go-lucky one out there! That is kinda a theme with this story, though. It's not happy-go-lucky at all, basically. (Blame Bleach)**

 **Anyway, thanks as usual for all your support, everyone! I can't thank you enough for having read and followed it to what is soon going to be the end, and likewise I can't tell you how happy I get whenever I see you guys have favorited it or left a comment - though I know I absolutely suck at replying to them XD**

 **~Line464d**


	32. Chapter 32 - A Proper Goodbye

**Chapter 32 - A Proper Goodbye**

 **So, guys, let's have a look at what Lucy's ended up choosing…!  
Though I could've, I decided not to make any April's fools out of this chapter. It doesn't really invite for it, per se. And it is the second last one. Instead, you got it a few hours late and unproofed! How's that for April's fools XD**

 **I apologize any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!  
Disclaimer: I really hope it doesn't come as a surprise to any of you when I say that I don't own either Bleach or Fairy Tail at this point. **

* * *

"Uhm… Mister Grimmjow…?" A teeny, tiny voice stammered right behind the Espada - if he even could be called that any longer.

He turned around to see it was the little, pigtailed kid who'd spoken. The only female one of those Dragon Slayers or whatever they called themselves.

Crossing his arms, he waited silently for the squirt to continue whatever she was going to say.

She began fidgeting with her fingers, averting her gaze from his before even attempting to say anything "Um… Do you… Do you think Lucy will be all right…?" She finally asked him slowly.

These people. Never stopped their incessant worrying, did they?

"There's nothing to worry about. She'll be fine." He promised the kid, turning away from her in a blatant sign of the conversation being over. No matter what those two did or said, his little kitten would be just fine. She had to be.

"Yeah." The human carrot chimed in. "You guys saw what she just did. Whatever those guys throw at her, she'll handle it." He elaborated, looking a little confused. Why wouldn't be when she'd just done that shit she had in front of them and these guys continued to worry about her like this?

"Y-yeah, but…" The little kid trailed off, taking a short moment to compose herself again. "B-but they are the Spirit Kings…!" She muttered.

Even Gin couldn't listen silently to this any longer. "They're only talkin' ta her in there. At most, they'll say somethin' she won't like." He joined in from the sidelines, some of his strength returned to him after the human girl had been by to work her magic on him.

Finally, the girl conceded with a little nod and pulled back, hopefully ashamed of the disrespect she'd showed the blonde right in front of them all.

Damn if his Kitten didn't go making allies left and right though. Since when had she gotten even that snake's vote of confidence?

And what the hell was taking them all so fucking long?

The human girl seemed to have the same thoughts. "I wonder what they're talking about. It must be very important if it takes this long." She said, muttering the last part to herself.

The Shinigami woman crossed her arms under her chest, her lips drawn into a thin line. "I think I've gotten a pretty good idea of what it's all about." She stated clearly intent on not saying anything else.

With the Spirit Kings of both worlds involved like this, you'd have to be stupid not to have at least an idea of what the hell they were talking about.

Either way, they didn't have to wait long for their questions to be answered, as the Arrancar herself popped out of a Garganta right then and there.

Her face was contorted into a completely blank mask - it revealed absolutely nothing about what had happened. Yet, at the same time, it actually revealed a whole damn lot.

"Luce! What'd they want?" The fire breather called out, not feeling the mood the slightest bit. As was tradition with that idiot.

The blonde turned her expressionless gaze to the pinkette, not even blinking. "Sorry, Natsu, but please wait for everyone else to arrive. I'd rather not have to say this more than once." She asked of him without missing a beat.

The glares the ice boy and redhead sent the Dragon Slayer revealed that Grimmjow wasn't the only one who knew what was going on with her. Whatever those two old bastards had told her, she was barely keeping it together.

He really wanted to do something about it, but knew that it'd only make things ten times worse if he attempted anything. So he kept quiet and watched.

The ones they'd been waiting for - whatever remained of the Shinigami Captains and the Espada - soon began trickling in, breaking the tense silence between them all.

"Ha! So this is this 'Earthland' you've all been raving about? Way too cute for me!" A boisterous voice basically yelled before its owner was even visible through the portal. That had to be the brutish one - Kenpachi Zaraki. The only one out of all of those sweethearts who would survive Hueco Mundo.

"They would not want someone like you here either way." The black-haired Kuchiki with a stick up his ass coolly replied, making the healer-captain laugh behind him as they both stepped out into the light.

The last one of this batch was the mad scientist, who looked like some sort of humanoid cow. As you'd expect him to he was looking around with suspiciously glittery eyes. "I have to get some samples from here…!" He muttered to himself though everyone present could hear him just fine. Looked like it was only the Captains though - no Lieutenants.

Lucy turned to the last Captain. "As long as you don't hurt anyone or anything, you can do as you like, Mayuri." She told him to which he rewarded her another suspiciously happy grin.

A little behind the Captains did Yammy appear, after who the portal - which was probably made by the Captain Commander from the feel of things - closed up. Damn, was he all that was left from Hueco? Aaroniero, Szayel and Zommari ha died too? They'd probably underestimated those Shinigami some, considering they were all present here right now. Likely nailed some Lieutenants though.

Shortly after, another Garganta popped up in front of them. The damn bat was the only one to step through that one, looking around him just as everyone else did. Though he didn't look impressed or even all that interested at all.

With a burst of golden light the strangest bunch of people he'd ever seen came into existence. There was literally a minotaur, a mermaid and a guy dressed in a horse-costume carrying a bow. Those were definitely the Spirits she'd spoken of so often. Loke was with them too, so there was no doubt about it.

Grimmjow also caught the look the blonde sent them all, her blank expression falling form her face for a moment. Yeah, apart from Loke, she hadn't seen any of these guys for over a year. And they were probably even closer to her than those mages were.

While everyone eyes each other curiously - and her old team tensely, as they recognized the robes. Well, it was obvious no one would trust each other under these circumstances. It was kinda funny to see them all divide into groups though. Fairy Tail and Spirits to the right, Arrancar by him and Shinigami to the left. All with Lucy in the middle.

Whatever they told her in there, it had to be grand to make so many people gather in one place. He was getting so damn curious it was crazy. Finally, the last bunch from Earth showed p, led by Harribel, who said nothing as she joined the remaining Espada. Well then. Holy shit. They were only the four of them and Lucy left out of the Espada. Looked like some people didn't take their tasks all that seriously.

The first Shinigami to step out was that drunk one wearing pink, Shunsui or something like that. You'd have expected him to comment something about either the new world or the woman on the other side with his track-record, but he said nothing. He just looked extremely down and about to cry.

Well, at least that basically proved they'd gotten one Captain down. The white-haired one wasn't present, and he was supposed to be Shunsui's friend and partner.

Either way, the other Captains from Earth made sure not to poke at that guy too much even as he flopped to the ground.

The little lady assassin clearly didn't know how to handle anything that was going on, looking around at all her new enemies with a cold glare.

The little runt of a Captain also glanced around suspiciously, though less angrily, as he took in the appearances of the mages and Spirits. He especially furrowed his brows when he saw Gin and Rangiku standing so close together.

From the looks of things, Tosen and that dog-like Captain had taken each other out in whatever battled they'd definitely had back there. Well, none of those two were a loss - Tosen had always been a major, fucking pain in the ass.

Finally, the old fart stepped out, closing the portal behind him. "Please do excuse the wait." He said, looking to the blonde and not about to explain to anyone hoe he knew how to make that portal without the Dangai. "However, everyone is gathered now, so please do not hesitate to begin." He said, proving he knew nothing and was just as curious as the rest of them.

As everyone's eyes shifted to the blonde, she nodded lightly. "All right.." She faintly said, working to figure out where to actually begin with this. "As you all likely know by now, I am not from Earth. I am from Earthland, which is partly why we are here right now." She said clearly, speaking mainly to the Shinigami and the Arrancar. "And you all likely also know that I've kept my memories of my previous life, even though I died." She added, glancing towards the Earhlanders for emphasis.

Looking around, it was true not a single person present seemed the least bit surprised by this information. Though both Shinigami and Arrancar seemed to realize exactly who Fairy Tail and the others were and why they were present.

"The reason the Spirt Kings of Earth and Earthland summoned me was about these two worlds." She continued, seemingly actually relaxed though so many were looking at her. "There is a rift between them that has not always been there. It allowed for Aizen and some of his subordinates to come here through the Dangai and ultimately making me a Hollow and sending me to Hueco Mundo, rather than become a Spirit here as I was supposed to." She explained.

A light seemed to turn on in the runt of a Captain's eyes. "That explains why four of his subordinates suddenly vanished a good year ago." He huffed, his tiny arms crossed over his just as tiny chest.

That bastard really would be the person to do something like that - killing off four of his men just so he would be absolutely sure they wouldn't go and flap their mouths at places they shouldn't. Just so he could keep this place to himself and use it however he could.

The Kitten nodded along, a light crease on her forehead. "Yes, I imagine so." She confirmed. From what she'd told him, Aizen'd brought three with him to that cave. The fourth must have been the guard, then.

"So let me hear if I have understood this correctly." The old Captain Commander spoke up, gaining her attention. "Their intention is to close this rift you speak of, is it not?" He asked slowly, almost carefully.

She nodded, one corner of her lips tugging downwards. "It is." She confirmed lowly. However everyone were so silent it could easily be heard. "It will be completely impossible to travel between Earth and Earthland by the end of today…" She trailed off.

Well… Holy damn, that was a dick-move those two farts pulled off. Why the hell did they drag her in there just to tell her crap like that? What the fuck even was that?

"But.. Luce…" Natsu spoke up, moving closer with a frown on his face as if he didn't understand what she was saying. "Doesn't that mean…?" He trailed off.

The confirming look she sent the guys wasn't even necessary - he already knew what was up without anyone having to tell him.

The other guy from her team scoffed though. "That can't be everything they wanted you for in there. There's got to be more to it than that." He stated with a scowl.

The blonde sighed lightly in resignation. "It wasn't…" She confirmed hesitantly. The look on her face and the way she said that made something roll around uncomfortably in Grimmjow's stomach. "They wanted me to choose. Between Earthland and Earth."

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown at his face. Shivers were sent down his spine as he realized what might actually become reality.

She might not have chosen him.

He hated the thought of losing her after all this time, but… he also knew it was definitely possible he'd have to. It was obvious she'd always yearned for her old life here, right from the beginning. She missed and loved these guys to hell and back.

Not to mention shed always despised how dark and brutal especially Hueco was. She never did like killing and did have a hard time accepting it was a necessity when she was.

She had nothing but enemies her either, couldn't trust anyone at all.

She just didn't fit into Hueco at all. She was too naïve and kind, even if she tried to argue she wasn't. And though she wasn't weak, she had a huge Achilles' heel in that face, shining and blinking at everyone in damn neon lights.

He knew all that, but…

"I… I could choose to remain in Hueco as I am now, or come back here as a Spirit with my own key." She spoke up again, her voice bringing him back. She was looking towards the Spirits when her gaze fell to the ground and she took a rattling sigh.

The little master of Fairy Tail stepped out as everyone else waited in anxious silence for her decision. "Whatever you may have chosen, my child, we will all support you in it. Don't worry about anyone else just choose what you know is right in your heart." He said, gently patting the back of her hand as Fairy Tail nodded behind him.

The old man's words and everything was finally enough to break the mas she'd so desperately attempted to keep up. "Thank you, master… Everyone.." She barely whispered, clenching her eyes shut for a moment as the old guy went back again. Moment, her glazed eyes met Grimmjow's and she flashed him a tiny smile. "But I've already made the decision." She said, some strength back in her already.

When he realized she wasn't going to say anything until she'd figured out exactly how to word it, he spoke up on behalf of everyone here. "Just say it already, Kitten." He told her with crossed arms.

"Have some patience, you ass." She told him off with no real anger to be spotted anywhere. For some reason, her reply made him somewhat relieved.

He flashed her a grin, to which she could only shake her head at him in reply. Whatever she chose, it'd be all right… Hell, maybe he could even bait that old fart of a Spirit King into letting him come here too, promising death and destruction wherever he went or some shit like that. This place needed some of his savageness anyway.

Finally, she turned and looked over at Fairy Tail and the Spirits. "Guys… I love you all so, so much and I don't want to have to leave you all again…" She trailed off momentarily.

The fire breather adopted a look that honestly matched hers at the moment, though much more hopeful. "You don't have to, Lucy. You can just say right here. With all of us." He said, ignoring the glares he got from the others at his pretty damn selfish request.

A light, sad smiled played at her lips as she looked up at her former partner. "I'm sorry, Natsu…" She said, her voice dropping a little at seeing his hope fall and shatter at her feet. "But Hueco Mundo needs me now more than ever." She told the guy, looking back at Grimmjow and the other three over her shoulder.

Grimmjow could only stare back at her, completely speechless. Wait… What did she just say?

"Holy shit.." He heard the carrot mumble, putting an arms around the human girl, who'd brought her hands up to cover her mouth, tears of some kind sliding down her cheeks already.

She was going to stay…?!

His little Kitten bowed deeply to all the mages and Spirits. "I'm so sorry to have to put you all through it all again, but…" She trailed off, her voice trembling too much for her to really say anything else.

The white-haired maid in the frilly dress was the first one to speak up. "As Master said, Lucy; don't worry about us. This was the right choice for you:" She said softly, though it seemed like even she was struggling to keep it together as Lucy simply managed to nod in reply.

"Now, hold on just one moment there, Kitten." He said before he even realized it. "Are you sure this is the right choice?" He asked before he could stop himself. He was elated she would choose to stay with him, but… Hueco wasn't the safest or nicest place in the worlds.

The blonde paused for a moment as she looked to him. Then, with a little, appreciative smile, she nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

* * *

She really, really loved how he worried; it was so sweet of him. But she'd made her decision and long since passed the point of no return.

She turned to him and the other three fully. "If we want to get Hueco back to where it's supposed to be, we'll need all five of us." She said as her gaze swept over them. "Are you willing to help me?" She asked.

Grimmjow snorted with a grin. "Do you even have to ask?" He asked his sky-blue eyes easily conveying everything he couldn't put into words.

She smiled at him. "I guess I didn't huh?" She agreed. He'd be right there every single step of the way, no doubt about it.

Harribel nodded curtly as well. "Of course. My Fracción and myself will help you any way we can." She promised the fellow blonde.

It was obvious that with Lucy in the lead, Hueco would see its fair share of changes. But it had also been long coming and something Harribel had wanted for so, so long. Her support wasn't really so surprising.

Ulquiorra also nodded. "Sure." He agreed as if he had nothing better to do anyway.

And, of course, with his support came Yammy's naturally. "Okay, I'll help too. As long as I can still pummel some weaklings once in a while." He said.

She grinned. How like him. "I'm sure we can manage something." She promised the big guy, ideas already forming in her head. "Thank you, though. I really appreciate your help in this." She added with a little bow.

"Yeah, well, it'd be stupid of us to deny the Queen of Hueco Mundo straight to her face." Grimmjow argued with an amused grin, to which she could only roll her eyes. "So what's your first order, my Queen?" He asked her with a smirk.

She raised a brow at him and his stupidity. "Well, if you have to ask, I might need some help gathering the troops we've got running around back in Las Noches." She said, looking to the other three. "Can I ask you guys to get them all together?" She asked them, feeling a little rude to already be asking something of them like this.

They exchanged gazes just momentarily, then all nodded. "We'll round them up in the meeting-room. There should be enough space for what remains." Ulquiorra announced. With a nod, each of them left through their own Garganta.

"What do you want me to do, hen?" Grimmjow asked, the last one remaining of them.

"I just want you to stay here." She lowly told him.

She knew she had to talk to Fairy Tail at some point soon, so she was trying to clear the crowd a little. She didn't need this kind of audience for the sob-fest that was about to commence. Grimmjow was the only one who should stay with her; she might and probably would need him…

Sighing lightly, she turned to the Shinigami. "I'm sorry I dragged you all out here, but I figured this was the right place to do this." She apologized. It was true what's she'd told them was short-lived, but it also needed to be said - the part about the closing of the rift at least. Besides, she didn't dare bring Fairy Tail over there.

Genryusai shook his head. "It is quite all right. It was exciting to see your world as well. I am sure I was and am not the only curious one about this matter." He said with a king smile. He soon grew serious again though. "So, what do you plan to do now?" He asked her as each of the Captains listened closely to their conversation.

"I am hoping to change Hueco Mundo for the better." She told him clearly. "And I hope I might gain your assistance in doing this." She added.

"You… You want us to be your allies?" Byakuya asked her skeptically.

She couldn't say she was completely sure, but she couldn't remember having heard of a time where the Hollows and the Shinigami were allies so it wasn't strange the idea might seem far-fetched to them.

Yet, that was indeed what she wanted to do.

She nodded to the stoic Kuchiki. "Yes I do. The Hollows ad Shinigami have fought for eons. Imagine what we could do if we joined forces instead." She suggested.

Mayuri lit up in a grin once realizing the potential of what kind of new test subjects and samples he might get from that kind of arrangement. "I like this one." He stated clearly, gesturing to her.

Though he didn't share the same level excitement. Hitsugaya also nodded. "Yes, there is a lot of potential in an alliance like that." He agreed.

"Sure." Sui-Feng spoke up sarcastically. "Or it could be their short-cut to killing all of us." She argued, her arms crossed.

Knowing who was going to make the final decision, they all turned to the Captain Commander. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he gazed down at the young blonde. "It is an interesting proposal, to be sure. And with your forces cut down and wounded in the way they are, it would be foolish of you to attempt anything now." He seemed to talk to himself. "I am willing to give this a try. However should I get any clue you might betray our trust, it will be in my right to annul this arrangement." He warned her.

"Naturally. As is it ours." She replied holding a hand out to him formally. "Then I look forward to working with you in the future." She said.

He nodded, taking and shaking her hand. "Likewise to you." He replied calmly, a broad smile on his face.

Gin huffed out a laugh where he stood. "Might wanna take a look at yer ranks in Soul Society before ya go 'n say our forces're all that wounded, Cap'n Commander." He warned the old guy.

"Oh?" Genryusai asked in a low hum. "Is that so?" He rhetorically asked the silver-haired Shinigami-slash-Hollow hybrid.

Sui-Feng turned an angry look to the guy. "You might want to watch what you're saying, traitor." She hissed at the guy, who naturally just continued to smile.

"And you might want to check your facts before you jump to conclusions, squirt." Grimmjow shot back at the assassin. "That traitor over there is the reason Aizen is dead right now and not taking over your precious, little Soul Society right now."

Lucy nodded feeling no need to add anything to that, simply letting them all chew on that for a moment. "If nothing else, you're very welcome in Hueco Mundo, Gin." She told him earnestly.

His fake smile didn't falter the slightest. "Ohh, how brave o' ya ta take in a vicious traitor like myself. Ya sure it's a good idea?" He asked her teasingly.

She just sent him a raised brow before turning back to the Captain Commander. "Before you leave, can I ask you all to take care of Aizen's body and bring him with you back?" She asked of them, gesturing to what remained of that guy behind Gin and Rangiku.

Following her gaze, the old guy saw what she was pointing at. "Oh, yes, of course. We will make sure to dispose of what remains as soon as possible." He promised her, already approaching the dead body.

She watched silently as the Captain Commander gestured for a few of them to help him pick Aizen up and for the humans to come along as well. All while she could feel a certain person's gaze burning at her back.

"Luce…" His voice trailed off, calling out to her. The sound of him - so lost and sad - drove a knife through her weeping heart.

She clenched her eyes shut but didn't move otherwise, not sure she was entirely ready to face him and the others just yet. Especially not with the Captains right there.

Of course, he didn't give up just like that. "Luce." He said much more firmly, the crunching revealing he was approaching. "You can't just leave us again. Not when we've just gotten you back again… Please." He asked of her as she could hear him coming to a stop right behind her.

Even though she could basically feel his body-heat now, she didn't turn around to face him, knowing she'd just break down if she did.

Still, he didn't shut up. "Please… Please don't leave me again, Luce…" He asked of her with such a tiny voice it didn't even matter she had her back to him.

Forcing her tears back, she then turned to look into his clear, pained eyes. "I have to, Natsu… I'm so sorry…" She told him softly, knowing what she was asking of him wasn't fair in the slightest.

She could see him trembling in emotion at her words, his brow creasing a little in a frown. "No… You… You can't." He stated, stepping so close they were almost touching. "You have no reason to be in that world." He said, confident what he was trying to say was true.

She reached out and gently stroke his arm, squeezing it lightly. "Please try to understand, Natsu… I can't stay here, at Earthland any longer. I'm not the same I was before I died, I can never go back to living the life I once lived with you guys. It will never be the same." She told him, tears welling to her eyes already at the thought of it all.

He shook his head. "No, it can. We'll make it be." He said, taking a firm hold of her arms as well, as if he thought she might run. "It'll be so much better…!"

"No, Natsu.." She disagreed, shaking her head lightly. "Even if I had chosen to stay here, I'd be a Spirit. I wouldn't be a mage. You won't be able to keep my Gate open forever or even throughout an entire mission." She reminded him. Last she heard, he was struggling with just the Gold keys. She'd likely be much harder.

"I'll get better! Much better! I'll train really hard - you can teach me how!" He said, already getting excited at the thought of it all. "Come on, we can still talk to the Spirit King, right? We can convince him to let you stay her instead!" He said, his grip tightening on her as his voice grew in volume.

"Natsu, you don't understand anything!" She told him just as loudly. "If I'm a Spirit, I can only watch over all of you and eventually watch you all die! I can't bear to have to watch something like that!" She almost yelled at him, tears now streaming down his face.

"That doesn't matter. I'll become a Spirit too, and then we can find each other again!" He said, completely brushing off her concerns.

"That's not how it works, Natsu, you know it isn't…" She said lowly. "You will lose your memories and forget everything about me and everyone else. Even if we did find each other again, it could never be the same." She reminded him.

"Maybe not." He then agreed. For a moment, she thought she'd won the argument and his understanding, but… "Maybe it will be even better!"

A fuse blew in her. "Why can't you just let me fucking go, Natsu?!" She yelled straight up in his face. "Why do you want me to watch all the people I love die, not able to do anything about it?! Why do you want me to face the people I have hurt and the ones I have killed on a daily basis?! Why would you ask me to go through something like that?!" She continued to shout.

He didn't hesitate even the slightest as he suddenly pulled her close, his hands on her cheeks gently as his warm lips met hers before she could even resist it in her surprise.

The kiss was short and decided to rest his forehead against hers as he whispered his reply. "Because I love you so, so much, Luce." He told her, his onyx eyes meeting hers softly.

His words brought her back to reality, making her sigh, deeply. "Oh, Natsu…" She muttered. He really forced her to do this… There was only one way she could convince him to let her go now. She looked into his eyes unflinchingly, though sadly. "I'm so sorry, but I can't return your feelings." She quietly told him.

She could see the shock spread on his face, guided by the purest of terror. "But… But why not…?" He asked her almost childishly, trying to pull her even closer with trembling hands.

Even though it was probably the hardest thing she had ever done, she resisted and pulled herself free, backing away from him. "I can't, because…" She reached out behind her and felt the gentle and now familiar warmth of Grimmjow's hand wrap around hers protectively. "Because I already have someone I love so, so much." She told the Dragon Slayer, looking up to meet the blue-haired Arrancar's semi-surprised eyes. A light squeeze told her those feelings weren't entirely one-sided.

Natsu watched them for a moment, his gaze completely glazed over. "Oh… I… I see…" He muttered incomprehensively. He stood stock-still for just a moment later, the only thing proving he wasn't frozen the build-up of water in his eyes. When the first of it started to spill over, he turned around and ran into the guild without a single word.

She could only watch silently and painfully as his back disappeared behind the doors. She wanted to run after him and cheer him up somehow, but also knew she couldn't do that now…

Therefore, she turned to the white-haired girl, who was already getting ready to follow the Dragon Slayer. "Lisanna." She called out to the girl, who halted and looked at the blonde with a conflicted expression. She looked at the girl. "Please.. Take care of him for me." She asked of the girl.

Even Lisanna's bright blue eyes began to tear up a little at the blonde's request. "I promise… I will." She assured the Arrancar, before running off after him, everyone's gazes following her young back.

Lucy's eyes didn't leave the guild doors even after both mages had disappeared behind them. Grimmjow squeezed her hand once again, then let go and messed around with her hair instead. "You did the right thing, Kitten." He reminded her.

She nodded, slowly. "It is the hardest thing I've ever done…" She told him, her eyes finally welling over as well. She hated to think these had to be their parting words, but… There was nothing to be done about it.

"Don't ya worry about that idiot, Bunny-Girl." Gajeel spoke up from where he was standing across from her, his arms crossed in front of him. He glanced over when he felt her gaze on him, showing her a toothy grin. "We'll get him back to normal soon enough." He promised her. She nodded and smiled, not doubting that.

Mira suddenly shot out and rushed to the blonde, enveloping her in a hug. "Oh, Lucy! I know how hard that must have been for you!" She said squeezing the blonde tightly.

Not even remembering the last time she had been hugged like this, she felt a knot grow in her throat as she snaked her arms around the maid's back as well. Sobs wracked through her, making it completely impossible for her to utter a single word.

Two small arms reached around her from behind, a light body pressing against her back. "I will miss you so much, Lucy!" Wendy called out, agreeing right behind her.

Lucy turned and looked at the two, not even caring about how she looked right now, freeing one arm to put around the young girl instead. "I will miss you all so incredibly much as well, Wendy." She somehow managed out with a squeaky voice.

Mira cooed as she reached up and tried to dry the blonde's cheeks, only for fresh, new tears to wet them again. "We will all miss our little Celestial mage and her bright smile." She said, somehow goading a smile out of the blonde.

"Juvia will take care of Gray-sama in Love-Rival's absence." The Rain Woman said, tears streaming down her cheeks already - though luckily not from the sky as well.

Lucy smiled and the woman's attempted and poorly executed joke, and pulled her in for a hug when Mira gave her the space. "Please, please do that, Juvia. It will mean the world to me." She told the woman earnestly. Juvia, unable to say anything else, simply frantically nodded up and down through her tears.

"Damn though." Cana spoke up ahead of them, her voice strangely sober from lack of booze. "You really kick some serious ass, girl. And get some serious, hot ass too." She added, giving Grimmjow the look from top-till-toe.

Evergreen joined in beside the usually drunk girl and nodded. "I'll say." She agreed, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Might even contest Laxus on a bad day." She added.

Laxus snorted. "Yeah, sure. He'd wish." He curtly replied.

Grimmjow raised a brow at him. "I don't have to." He confidently replied, taking a challenging step towards the tall blonde. "Besides, I could kick _your_ ass any day of the week." He added.

Lucy could only laugh at the two before her, turning to the two girls. "I'll miss you two crazy ladies, I swear." She laughed, approaching the both of them entering into their waiting arms.

"Of course you will - who wouldn't?" Cana asked, to which Evergreen nodded in agreement. "Hells if we won't have to find a new, innocent victim to tease till they get some hot ass, though." She added. Lucy could only shake her head at their ridiculousness.

Happy suddenly flew right at her, his wide eyes brimming with tears. "Lushee! Who will give me fish when you're gone again?!" He asked her loudly, his piercing voice going straight to her brain as he basically crash-landed in her chest.

She smiled and reached down to pet him. "I'm sure you'll find someone who'd be willing to give you some, Happy. Try asking Lisanna next time you get the chance." She suggested him.

Happy pouted up at her. "Lisanna can't take your place, Lushee. There'll be a biiiiiiiiig, black hole again, you know?" He told her.

She smiled down at him sadly, once again running her hand down his back softy. "I'm sorry about that.. But with time, you'll experience so many things in your life you will completely forget that hole exists at all." She promised him.

"Hmm… I might have to disagree on that." Freed said. "Time heals many scars, yes, however this is one of few time may not be able to heal fully." He argued.

Bickslow came up next to his teammate, most of the color back on his face as he slung an arm around the green-haired mage's shoulders. "Why do you have to be so stiff, Freed? She's just tryna cheer the lil' guy up, you know." He said, his tongue lolling out the way it always did.

While Freed glared up at him, she smiled. "I'm sorry if we frightened you back there… It couldn't really be helped, though." She apologized to him.

Bickslow shook his head. "Nah, it's okay." He promised her. "Was some crazy shit, but it's okay." He repeated himself.

She laughed a little, nodding lightly. "Yeah, it really was, wasn't it?" She rhetorically asked. All those transformations, those power-levels, the ups and downs of it all… It was some crazy shit, that's for sure.

"You fought like a real man, Lucy!" Elfman proclaimed, pumping a fist proudly in front of her.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She said with a smile. Oh, how she would miss all this.. No one could ever make her relax the way these guys could. Even her tears were mostly dried. They would soon return, though.

"Princess, it's about time for us to leave again." Loke spoke up behind her. She turned and faced the group of Spirits, realizing they'd been staying out on their own power for this long.

She quickly approached them, smiling sadly at them. "Thank you so much for everything you have all done for me throughout the years, guys. I can never repay you for it all." She thanked them all, seeing Cancer and Taurus already tearing up at her words. "Just, please, take care of Natsu and the others for me. And may you get the most lovely of owners." She said, feeling her own tears build again.

Loke smiled brightly at her. "Unfortunately, it seems we've lost the best one we could ever get." He said honestly. It was easy to tell those were words directly from the heart. "Make sure to stay happy over there, Princess. We love you." He spoke on everyone's behalf as they started turning invisible in front of her.

She smiled through rapidly building tears, nodding to his orders. "I love you too!" She called out to them as they disappeared in small embers of golden light. She sighed deeply once she stood, looking into the building ahead. "Oh, what have I gotten myself into…" She muttered to herself. This was so hard… She knew she would never see any of them again, and she had no clue what to tell them all…

"There are just a few of us left, Lucy. Please don't go and break down just yet." He deep voice said behind her.

She turned around to face the basically naked guy, her tears back full-force thanks to him. "I can't believe I'm doing this to you guys again…" She mumbled, her emotions making her lips tremble.

Gray reached out and pulled her in for a hug as he had done so many times back when she'd been alive and before everything turned into what it had. "As Master said, don't worry about us; we'll be fine. I'm just happy to know you've found happiness." He told her, squeezing her lightly in his arms as she dropped her forehead to his shoulders at lack of any strength at all. "Even if it isn't with us." He added.

She smiled though she didn't look up at him. "Still… I'm going to miss you guys… I love you so much.." She spoke through her tears, clenching the Ice Make mage in her arms.

"Yeah…" He said, his voice trembling lightly as well. "I love you too, Lucy. I'll really miss you…" He told her slowly, pressing his cool cheek to the side of her head.

"We both will. Very much." The only other female part of their team said ahead, making Gray let go of Lucy slowly.

The blonde looked up at Erza over his shoulder, though she could barely see anything at all. "Erza… I'm so sorry for everything I've done…" She sobbed, before being enveloped in the knight's hard embrace instead.

"I've long since forgiven you for all of that, Lucy. You've never had a choice." She told the girl. Though the redhead's voice was firm, her body was wracked by tremors of emotions.

Lucy smiled, resting her forehead against Erza's. "Please don't ever change at all, Erza." She asked of the Requip mage, who was clearly holding it together even worse than she was.

Erza just nodded at that, clenching the blonde's shirt at her back. Tears were welling out of both eyes on the mage, as rare as that was.

Still, Lucy knew there was one person she still had yet to truly end things with, as uncomfortable as it would be to do so. So she pulled away from the redheaded knight softly, giving her a last smile before turning to the petite girl she'd always called her best friend and still would, though she wasn't necessarily hers.

"Levy…" She trailed off, having the young girl look up at her. "I can't apologize enough for everything.. And now I can never truly be around to repent for it all… I'm so sorry…" She said, slowly falling to her knees in front of the girl, who'd never given her the punishment she deserved.

Levy remained silent for a moment, until something slightly pointy touched the back of the blonde's left shoulder. "Just… Don't ever forget. Us or all the things you've done." She ordered the other girl as a searing pain spread across her entire scapula.

Lucy immediately recognized the form of the mark the Script mage was searing into her skin, but looked to find exactly what she thought. The Fairy Tail insignia in crimson red the exact spot Levy's was. And Jet and Droy's had been.

She looked up at the young girl through tears, though she couldn't discern if they were sad or actually happy that she'd gotten the insignia back. "As if I ever could go and forget something like that." She said.

Slowly, she rose to her feet. She… She was ready to go now… With all eyes on her - and on her new insignia drawn in her own blood - she joined Grimmjow at his side.

She took a last look at them all. "Thank you, you guys… I… I really love you all, please don't forget that, ever. And I wish you all the happiness in the world in the future." She stammered shakily. She knew she repeated herself, but she couldn't help it.

"Don't mention it Lucy." Gray said, his dark gaze turning to the Fairy Tail building for a moment. "So… Could you give that idiot a minute or two more, maybe?" He asked, glancing to her again. She nodded; of course she could if he had something planned. "Great." Gray said, then set off with a light jog towards the building.

She watched him go as well with a sigh, then turned to Grimmjow. "Think we should move a little away from here..?" She asked him.

Understanding what she was really asking as well as everyone else did, he nodded. "Sure." He agreed, looking up and giving the Fairy Tail mages a nod of goodbye.

Lucy smiled at them. "Goodbye, everyone…!" She called out, then quickly followed Grimmjow as he Sonido'ed further ahead to the forest behind the guild. They weren't far away from the guild, so they'd easily be able to tell where they were still.

Grimmjow's gaze turned to her once they found a spot right at the inside of the edge of the tree-line. "You okay, Kitten?" He asked her kind of gently.

She smiled reassuringly up at him and could actually give him an honest nod. "Yeah, I'm actually pretty good… It felt really good to be able to say goodbye to them all this time." She admitted. Yes, this was a very sad and painful day, but at the same time she felt so relieved. She knew she'd gotten to convey what she felt to them - many times over - and could now 'rest in peace', so to speak.

She'd been so lost in thought she hadn't noticed his approach before he stood directly in front of her, trapping her between himself and the tree behind her. He was looking directly down at her with a strange look in his eyes.

His arms truly made escape possibly when he put his hands on the tree behind her, getting so close to her they were basically touching, though they weren't quite. He leaned a little close to her ear. "You do realize that now you've gone and made things official, I won't let anyone else touch you the way those people did just now." He whispered in her ear, his warm breath fanning over her skin.

She felt goosebumps rise on her skin at the tone of his voice. "Touch me… How, exactly?" She asked him, a little out of breath. It'd be a while till Natsu would be here, so this would be fine.

Grimmjow looked at her from the corner of his eyes, a smirk playing in the beautiful blue color. His hands slid down from the tree and all the way down to her arms. "Like this." He whispered, letting his hands slide further down to her waist and around it, pulling her up flush against him. "Like this." He moved them all the way up again, till they gently cupped her cheeks and all she could see was him. "And this." He said, his eyes falling from hers and down to her lips. "And most definitely like this." He said and leaned in.

Softly and gently, his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes and angled her face slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck as well. Taking this as the sign to keep going that it was, he quickly became much more passionate. He kissed her, again and again, as if he wanted to erase every trace of Natsu there might be. He kept one hand on the back of her head, angling her head as he saw fit, while he trapped her against his chest with the other around her back, drawing circles with its callous touch.

Though she'd rather not, she pulled away from his lips with a sigh, feeling the Fire Dragon Slayer's approach. He didn't take the hint though and continued to kiss her face and neck while she struggled to catch her breath.

"Luce!" She heard the pinkette call out just a little beyond the guild-building.

"Grim, he's coming." She told the Arrancar, hoping his blissfully inappropriate attack would come to an end with that.

He just smirked as he continued to place kisses down her neck and shoulders. "He already knows, so it doesn't matter does it?" He asked her.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "You ass." She told him, rolling around the tree he'd trapped her against and walking towards where Natsu was coming from instead.

The guy himself entered the tree-line just as she popped into view. "Luce…" He said, short of breath both from running and her sudden appearance.

She smiled at him, knowing words had never been his strong suit. "I'll really miss you, Natsu. I'll never forget all the time we've spent together on missions and at the guild. Not a single thing of it." She promised him.

He looked at her slightly dumbfounded for a moment, still at a loss for words. He then nodded. "Yeah… I'll never forget you either, Luce." He promised her, his eyes shifting to something behind her, as Grimmjow also stepped out of the darkness of the trees behind her.

Knowing she'd have to say something to break whatever intimidation Grimmjow was trying to pull, she spoke to Natsu once again. "Please, be happy, Natsu. And take care of Lisanna." She told him.

"Lisanna?" He asked her with a strange look on his face, knowing the two hadn't talked a whole lot. "… Sure." He then promised with a nod to her and a little, awkward smile. His gaze once again shifted to Grimmjow as a determined look settled on his face. "You." He said, stepping so close to the Arrancar he was standing nose-to-nose with the guy. "Don't you dare make Luce sad. Make sure she'd always happy." He ordered.

Grimmjow snorted, unimpressed with the Dragon Slayer's attempt at being intimidating. "Don't worry, I won't let her die under my watch." He sharply jabbed at the Dragon Slayer.

Lucy glared up at the guy. He really didn't have to say something like that, no matter how much pride he had to show off.

None of them even saw her though, they only glared right at each other. "Good." Natsu finally said, pulling back a few steps and away from the both of them. "Then… I guess this is… Goodbye." He said, looking to her again.

She nodded, not even able to put up a fake smile right now. "Yeah, it is… Goodbye, Natsu. And thank you for everything." She said, gaining a nod from him.

Slowly and unsurely, Natsu backed out of the forest, until he couldn't see them any longer. Then, he ran off, back to everyone else.

She sighed, then immediately turned to Grimmjow with a glare. "You really didn't have to do that." She told him sharply, knowing he'd know exactly what she was talking about.

He looked at her amusedly, then rolled his eyes as she would have done. "Oh, please. He deserved it after touching you like that." He said, sneaking a hand down the spine of her back.

She shivered shortly, immediately grabbed his hand so it wouldn't do anything else and created a Garganta. "Shut up and let's go home."

* * *

 **Whooo…. So that's actually that. That's the story. Next chapter is simply a prologue.**

 **I really hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!**

 **She managed to get the proper goodbye in this one that she didn't get the first time around, alas the title. Deliciously symbolic, if I do say so myself.  
And then she is starting a new mission to clear up Hueco's problems. Big task, that it is, but she's not entirely alone about it either. **

**Now then, I will not lie, I was millimeters from crying myself when I wrote about her goodbyes to FT. Especially around the Spirit/Erza/Gray/Levy part. Though it might be too much to expect you all to cry, I do hope some parts of this chapter moved some parts of you guys as well!**

 **Well, as always, thanks a BUNCH for reading, following, favoriting and, of course, commenting! Please know I'd probably not have finished this without your support throughout!**

 **~Line464d**


	33. Chapter 33 - A New Beginning

**Chapter 33 - A New Beginning**

 **Ohkay, so this is the 'epilogue', guys. Aka literally last chapter. I hope you enjoy!  
Also, I would very much like you to observe the genius that is the symbolic nature of this chapter's title in comparison with the very first one. Thank you very much~**

 **I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review~  
Disclaimer: M'kay. I actually lied to you guys all this time. I am **_**both**_ **Hiro Mashima and Tite Kubo and therefore definitely own both Bleach and Fairy Tail at the same time. Sound realistic?**

* * *

Momentarily glancing at the four with her, Lucy pushed the gates in front of them. They easily glided open, revealing two rows of Shinigami Captains at either side of them and the Commander at the end of it.

Quite a few new faces stood among the Captains as equals now. Aizen's, Tosen's, Komamura's, Ukitake's and, in a sense, Gin's seats had been completely open at the end of the war. Now, however, they were all filled once again.

Having taken Aizen's former spot was now that Visored she'd just barely met at Earth, Shinji Hiraki. Apparently he had once been a Captain of this very same division centuries ago when Aizen had lured him and the others into a trap and transformed them into these Visored - ultimately leading to them being kicked out. All the others, though there were some among them who had also been Captains previously, now stood behind him in that division.

For Tosen's, Komamura's and Ukitake's divisions had the choice been made that Lieutenants should take the open seat. Respectively, the new Captains were now Shuhei Hisagi, Tetsuzaemon Iba and Rukia Kuchiki, all with very serious looks on their faces. This was likely their first real meeting as Captains ever since being sworn in.

Finally, as for Gin's division… Was the man himself. It seemed that he'd been accepted into the Shinigami ranks again, no doubt thanks to Rangiku and his Lieutenant, Izuru Kira. Both had made it abundantly clear that they respected and loved the man. Well, it was only fair with everything he'd taken upon himself and endured in completing that ambition of his.

All of them were gathered here for what was supposed to be the first meeting between Hollows and Shinigami ever.

As the five Arrancar stepped in and fanned out, the giant gates were pulled closed behind them by the Shinigami guarding the outside.

Though tension filled the air between all of the, the Captain Commander still smiled as warmly as if they were old friends. "Lucy. I am glad to see you brought everyone here with you." He spoke, finally breaking the silence going on between the two sides.

She nodded faintly, a slight smile sent back to the old guy out of pure politeness. "Of course. They are to me what the Captains are to you-" She gestured to the four with her; Yammy, Ulquiorra, Harribel and, of course, Grimmjow with a broad movement. "My equals." She stated. If she'd been called here, that meant they had been called as well. Whether the Shinigami liked it or not. Besides, even she wasn't naïve enough to go in here all alone, surrounded by what could very well turn out to be enemies rather than allies.

"I see." He replied with a genuinely curious look in his old eyes. "The reason you have been summoned here is because we wish to hear what you are going to do in your rule in Hueco Mundo, now that we are allies." He explained, though that was already obvious.

Sui-Feng snorted from his right, crossing her thin arms with a sour look on her face as she glared right at all of them. "There isn't much to talk about - they're just going to copy how we do things. She basically admitted it just now." She snapped firmly.

Grimmjow glared right back at the petite girl. "And there you go fucking assuming shit before you've even gotten your facts checked again." He growled back at her, not even flinching at the cold glare she sent back to him.

Lucy nodded in agreement with him. "It is not quite the same as yours as it is now, though I supposed it does run on some of the same concepts and values." She admitted.

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it, eh?" Gin asked, his usually creepy smile actually lightening the mood some.

She sent the white-haired would-be Shinigami a crooked smile. "Something like that" She agreed with a nod. The way they'd run things while Aizen was in the front was honestly basically the same as the way the Shinigami did things.

"So then." The older Kuchiki said, gaining her attention. "What are you going to do, then?" He asked her directly.

Not one to beat around the bush, that one, was he? Well, it was fine. "We plan to split Hueco Mundo in two, so to speak." She told them.

The many confused expressions they got at this revelation were nothing short of what she'd expected. It was quite something, after all. Maybe a little too much, but she wouldn't back down just like that.

Harribel picked up where the other blonde had left off. "More specifically, we will create a safe-zone within Hueco Mundo, in which those who do not wish to be forced to fight and kill every day of their lives can be allowed not to." She explained to all of them. Something that had otherwise been impossible with how that world operated.

Zaraki snorted. "Please. It'll be dead silent in there. It's just a waste of space." He said amusedly, sounding like he was absolutely convinced that was the truth of the situation.

Lucy looked at the big guy of a Captain with a brow raised. "I think you'd be surprised." She told him flatly. "Just as you have many here, who take pleasure in violence and the like - such as yourself - we have also got the opposite." She assured him.

"That's all great and all, but how exactly do you expect to make something like that reality?" Shinji asked, a less than impressed look on his face. "I mean, you know you can't just expect the other Hollows in your world to just accept that and leave easy prey like the ones in that 'safe-zone' of yours alone, right?" He asked them.

"Naturally. That would be impossible." Ulquiorra agreed with a nod. "We will fortify that space with the proper precautions to prevent anything like what you are referring to from happening." He vaguely explained.

Lucy nodded along, figuring she should elaborate on that just a tad bit more. "The former 8th Espada, Szayelaporro Granz, made an invention, which would allow for us to nullify all reiatsu in a radius of one kilometer from the device. Placing them around the area strategically would allow us to keep that area safe." She explained.

As had been revealed with Nnoitora when she'd used it on him a few days ago that would leave the Hollows in that area practically without any fighting strength at all. Of course, they would all be equal then, which would mean attackers could still come and succeed. But this was still Hueco Mundo they were talking about - if that happened, the ones in there would just have to fight back with their numbers.

There was just one little bump in the road with this plan. "Unfortunately, Szayelaporro only made it possible for himself to truly operate his inventions." She said, then turned to the Shinigami's mad scientist - who'd incidentally also been the one who'd killed Szayel off in the first place. "That's why I would like to ask for your help, Mayuri." She said, then glanced over at the Captain Commander. "-If I may, that is?" She asked him for permission.

He nodded. "Of, of course. If you can come to an agreement." He told her quickly, almost as if it was a given. The terms of this alliance of theirs hadn't really been laid out as of yet, so she wasn't entirely sure what she could and couldn't do. They'd probably bring that up here eventually though.

She turned back to the Captain in question, awaiting his reply too her suggestion. A smirk spread on his face. "That is indeed a very… Interesting arrangement you've come up with:" He said, acting as though he didn't already know exactly what he was going to say. "What will I get out of doing this for you, though?" He then had the gall to ask her.

Grimmjow growled under his breath. "Oh, you mean other than getting your sticky fingers into our fucking security-system?" He sarcastically shot back.

The Shinigami calmly stared back at the Arrancar. "Yes. It is clear you need me to do this for you much more than I would ever need to get my 'sticky fingers' into your 'fucking security-system'. He said, raising a brow challengingly at the already fuming guy. "So how are you going to compensate me for that?" He asked them, his gaze alternating between the two.

"You damn bastard..!" Grimmjow snarled at the guy, who just shrugged.

Lucy sighed. There was only one way Mayuri would agree to doing this, wasn't there? "You will get a single blood-sample from me." She told him. He'd definitely planned for this to be the end-result right when she'd asked for his help, there was no doubt about that. "But you will only get one and you will only get it once you have finished the task successfully." She told him sharply, seeing the excited look spread on his face.

His eyes still glittered with the ecstasy he held back. "Of course, that is most fair." He said, acting all humble now he'd gotten what he'd wanted.

Grimmjow looked right at her with a frown. "Are you really sure this is a good idea?" He asked, having always been a little careful about anyone getting into too much contact with her magic - cute as it was of him.

She understood what he meant though, and agreed completely. She would never allow for Mayuri to get a hold of her DNA if she could prevent it at all. Who knew what he would do with something like that? Alas; her wording - hopefully he wouldn't catch on until it was too late.

Grimmjow wasn't the only one who didn't feel right about all this though. Hitsugaya crossed his arms with a strange look on his face. "I'd honestly rather guard that place myelf than let that guy get his hands on something like that." He said with a 'tsk' to finish it off.

Not able to hide his amusement even the slightest bit, Mayuri looked to the little Captain with somewhat of a pout. ""How harsh of you, Captain Hitsugaya. We're on the same side - don't you trust me?" He asked.

Captain Hitsugaya huffed. "Of course I don't." He nonchalantly replied.

Not feeling like having her decision torn apart any further, she cut into the discussion herself. "Nonetheless, that is the arrangement that has been made." She announced, turning to the overly satisfied Captain once again. "We will make the last agreements once this meeting is over." She stated, to which she got a single nod.

Genryusai cleared his throat in an effort to bring the topic back on track again. "It certainly sounds like something of a project you have gotten planned there." He said, almost as if asking whether there was more to it still.

She nodded lightly. "I know. We are keeping everything else as close to what it was as we can other than that precisely because of it." She agreed.

Too many big changes all at once would make it impossible for the Hollows to understand what was going on properly or being able to follow it at all. So, in order to keep everyone with her, she would instead be implementing smaller changes as the need for them popped up. Besides, with the safe-zone done, the worst part was over and done with already.

Harribel had specifically asked to be in charge of the safe-zone, and Lucy honestly couldn't find anyone better for the job herself. It was right up Harribel's alley.

The other side of Hueco basically took care of itself, so she would let it do just that. Other than that, she'd tried her best to cover the most important tasks that the Espada had taken care of between the remaining four of them.

She would take care of the paperwork that Barragan had previously been in charge of. Yammy would continue to be at the front of the army as he had been, only difference was he was all alone about it this time. Ulquiorra would instead take over the Exequias that Aaroniero had been taking care of before. Finally, Grimmjow would be bringing in anyone who wanted to be and had the potential to be one of their subordinates. They needed to rebuild Las Noches and Hueco Mundo right from the ground and up all over again.

Their head-quarters was still going to be Las Noches, as it was still standing impressively upright even after all the things it'd seen. It only needed a minimal amount of fixing to get back to what it once was. That was where they would keep everyone who wanted to cooperate and help them with what they were doing.

And, though she was officially the 'Queen' of Hueco Mundo, she wanted to work together with the four around her as her equals and co-leaders. That very democratic way of doing thngs wasn't really very Hollow-like, but if she tried to do it all alone, she'd definitely lose her title before a single day had passed. Even if Grimmjow was doing his best to protect her as well. She wasn't just going to hand over Hueco Mundo to anyone after all this - she wanted a say in things now she was here.

"You know…" The Captain clad in pink, Shunsui, spoke up, returning her attention from wherever it'd gone off to. "Some of the guys over there won't really appreciate what you're trying to do. So what're you gonna do about them?" He asked them all.

She sighed lightly. "Yes, we are aware we are going to face some resistance..." She admitted. Especially Nnoitora would prove to become a problem if they allowed his ranks to grow too big... "I have to admit I am not sure how we are going to handle them as of yet." She shamefully admitted. Something like that, she needed a firm grasp of before it happened, not only once it hit.

Yammy snorted out a laughter beside her. "That's easy." He declared, smashing his hands together. "We'll just smash 'em till they can't stand!" He told her loudly, the thought of doing just that almost made his eyes gleam.

Grimmjow grinned up at the big guy, mirroring his expression to a 'T'. "Yeah, I'm in on that plan!" The blue-haired Arrancar was quick to agree.

Maybe those two were on to something. They couldn't just reign a whole world like that one without showing off that they had the power to back it up too. Doing it the 'hard' way might be a very good idea.

Unohana strangely smiled at the two, almost as if she was looking at two small children. Shouldn't be far from the truth. "Doing it the Hollow way, is it?" She rhetorically asked, then nodded. "Yes, that might just be for the best." She agreed.

Gin nodded as well, his usual smile basically stitched on his face as always. "Ta remind them all ya haven't lost yer edge just yet and so on." He agreed.

Lucy nodded as well. Yep, they were right. That was actually probably how they should handle it. "You all might very well be right." She told them, pretending she didn't see the flabbergasted look Grimmjow was sending her. "Whatever the case, we would of course like too see if we can handle it by ourselves first, before we call for your help." She said, knowing that was really what Shunsui had been fishing for.

He sent her a nod and a vague smile. "As you should." He lightly replied. Looked like that was the right answer.

Figuring that was all there needed to be said for the time being about the inner workings of Hueco Mundo, she decided to bring the conversation to a topic she'd wanted to discuss.

"About this alliance of ours." She said, bringing especially the Captain Commander's full attention to herself. "I know that it was my own suggestion, but I believe we do need to figure out exactly what it entails." She stated.

Genryusai nodded seriously. "Yes, I agree. So there will not be the same misconceptions in the future." He said, to which she and everyone else nodded in agreement. It was a good idea to have it said out loud like this now everyone was gathered.

"Well, let's take the obvious ones first, then." She said, already making the mental checklist of everything that they were going to be talking about now. "Should you come under attack for whatever reason, we will aid you in fighting them off, whoever they may be." She promised them.

"We will of course do the same, if this should happen to you as well." He easily agreed. "Naturally, this also means I will not allow for any of my Shinigami to plan and complete an assault on Hueco Mundo." He reassured her.

She nodded lightly. "Neither will we tolerate it if ours do the same." She also agreed. "However I cannot promise it will not happen despite this." She earnestly told him - it was no use to lie about that. Hollows were known to be unpredictable and unorganized like that. Even Aizen hadn't been able to control them all completely either.

This confession made the otherwise so far quiet former Lieutenant of Komamura's speak up with a glare on his face. "Are you saying you are unable to control your ranks?" He asked her sharply.

She returned the very same, sharp look to him. "If you think you are any better at it, Tetsuzaemon Iba, you are very welcome to give it a damn shot. Don't blame me if they tear you apart, though." She told him just as harshly as he had accused her.

The man began to sputter and spit in his anger and embarrassment, his face going entirely red. Meanwhile, Zaraki broke out into laughter at a volume it made the floor rumble. "She got ya there, bud." He howled.

Ulquiorra looked to the brutish Captain with an entirely unimpressed expression at his loud volumes, then turned to the still red, newly-hatched Captain instead. "It is natural that, with the shift in leadership and the new changes we are going to implement, there will be those who will not listen to nor follow us. Especially considering the general nature of our race." He argued curtly, before his green eyes narrowed lightly at the man. "We do not take lightly to insults either. You would do well to remember that." He then warned the guy.

Ignoring the staring-contest going on between the two, the Captain Commander gave her a slight nod. "That is to be expected." He said, leaving it unsaid but universally understood that he expected them to come and pick up their trash if it should decide to tip out of the can like that.

She nodded in return as well, accepting that condition and expecting the very same from them.

Shinji scoffed from where he was standing, his arms crossed. "Like, I get we're supposed to be allies and all that jazz, but I really gotta say, I don't trust any of you guys at all." He directly told her, his eyes slightly narrowed to underline exactly what he meant.

"What? Because we're Hollows? We're no different than you beta-models, only well fucking done." Grimmjow growled at the Visored.

The guy tsk'ed as he looked to Grimmjow. "No, not because of that shit. Because you all have been rubbing your shoulders with that bastard the last year." He bluntly told them, the purest of hatred shining in his eyes at the thought of the man who'd doomed them to live as Visored

She sighed. "You mean to say we could have staged all this only to stab you all in the back once we're close enough and then take over Soul Society just as he planned?" She asked him. That was definitely something Aizen would have done.

Narrowing his eyes at her till they were nothing more than slits, he replied. "Yes, something exactly like that." He confirmed with not even an ounce of trust.

Even Harribel couldn't stay silent at that kind of accusation. "It is awfully rude of you to suggest we would do anything of the sort. What proof do you have of your claims?" She asked him sharply, something he could obviously not answer.

Yammy also decided to speak his mind on the topic. "If case you forgot, these two are the ones who killed Aizen just a few days ago." He reminded the guy, jabbing his thumb towards Lucy and Grimmjow.

Even Gin butted his head into the conversation. "They ain't got much reason ta trust us either ya know, and yet here they are, willin' ta give this a shot. So how 'bout ya go 'n do the same, eh?" He suggested the Visored with surprisingly clear irritation shining through in his voice.

Shinji looked at the silver-haired Arrancar-Captain with an incredulous look. "Just whose side are you on anyway?" He asked him sharply.

Gin just shrugged nonchalantly. "Bit o' both, I think." He said with his unreadable smile, which only seemed to piss off Shinji some more.

Unohana quickly stepped in before things could get any farther. "Now, now, it is natural that things might be a little tense here to begin with - we did just end a war, after all." She gently argued, playing the peace-make in all of this. "But let's all agree to try to make this work, okay?" She asked out loud, getting no vocal protests.

Lucy looked around at everyone gathered, feeling the hostility tainting the air and breathed out in light resignation, turning to Genryusai again. "Perhaps it would be for the best we simply keep it at being a truce to start off with, until it has been proven both sides are prepared for this kind of arrangement." She suggested. Taking it easy and with baby-steps might just have to be the way to go for something like this.

Genryusai nodded lightly, clearly not too happy they couldn't just come to an agreement immediately. "Yes.. Perhaps so." He slowly agreed.

A little timidly, Rukia brought attention to herself. "May I make a suggestion…?" She asked, apparently not sure how much she could say as a new Captain.

Looking a little surprised at her strange request, Genryusai quickly nodded. "Of course, please do." He said as if it was a given, gesturing for her to go on.

Now with all eyes on her, the young Captain puffed up her chest just a bit. "How about it becomes something similar to the unsaid agreement we have with Ichigo?" She suggested with none of the earlier nervousness in her at all. At first, no one seemed to follow what she meant, so she elaborated all by herself without anyone having the chance to ask her to. "Where we can 'borrow' each other if the need for it arises." She then added.

Shunsui looked at the younger Kuchiki curiously. "You mean where we leave each other the hell alone until a situation where the other part will inevitably be included happens or something that's simply too big to ignore?" He asked the girl, who nodded in confirmation. "So basically what you two brought up already." He said, looking alternatively from Lucy to the Captain Commander. "Sounds good to me - then it can also be called an alliance for real." He added.

Simultaneously Lucy and the Captain Commander looked to each other, trying to figure out what the other thought about the suggestion. Seeing a reflection of what she felt herself in the man's eyes, she nodded. "Yeah, I believe that's a good solution." She said, looking around at the other Arrancar around her to see they agreed with her too.

The old man nodded as well. "Than that is how we will do it." He announced, sending Rukia an appreciative smile.

"In that case." Hitsugaya spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "I suggest Gin will be the one to deliver our messages, should we have any." He said, looking to the silver-haired Arrancar, who actually seemed surprised he'd be given that kind of responsibility right off the bat. "He already knows Las Noches well, and he's someone you guys can trust with something like this, right?" He asked, now looking to the five from Hueco Mundo.

There was absolutely no doubt what their answer to that would be. "Do you even have to ask?" Grimmjow asked, as if to prove just that.

"All right then, so if everyone agrees…" Genryusai trailed off, looking around at his Captains, none of which said anything in protest. "Then I will leave that to you, Gin." He said, gaining a nod from the man himself.

With their messenger decided, the Shinigami soon turned to the five Arrancar, clearly wanting them to find theirs. As a domino-effect, she then felt four gazes turned to her in the very same fashion.

She huffed out a laughter at their silent yet loud message. "Well, I guess I'll be it, then." She relented. Unfortunately, they didn't have a Gin, who fit the role perfectly. She'd just have to do, then.

Following the acceptance of her new and extra role, a meaningful silence filled the room. Everyone seemed to look around at each other, trying to figure out what to do or say next.

The Captain Commander looked around at them all, being the first one to speak up. "Do any of you have anything you wish to be discussed at this meeting, then please speak up now." He clearly ordered. From the looks of things, no one was holding anything back at the moment, so he continued. "With this decided, I now declare this first meeting of ours over." He announced, his words actually causing a wave of relief to wash through almost everyone gathered. Gradually, the Captains began the first movements to leave the room and return to their duties.

"Captain Commander." Lucy spoke up before everything went too far. "Can I borrow you alone for just one moment?" She asked him, for now ignoring the strange looks she was getting from both Arrancar and Shinigami.

"Of course." He easily replied, seemingly not too surprised with her sudden request.

"What the hell's this all about, Kitten?" Grimmjow lowly asked, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, yet at the same time couldn't help the need to at least ask about it.

She turned to him and shook her head. "I'll tell you all about it later; this isn't the place." She promised them. She glanced behind her when she felt the curiously awaiting scientist's gaze on her back, then looked back at them all. "Can I ask you to make the last arrangements with Mayuri while I'm in there?" She asked them

Before Grimmjow could say anything to protest it, Ulquiorra quickly nodded. "Sure. We'll be going back ahead of you, so do not go looking for us." He declared, completely ignoring the glare he was getting from the blue-haired Arrancar.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, I'll come back as soon as I am done here." She promised them as all four decided to leave with varying amounts of speed. Eventually though, even the sour-faced Grimmjow left.

Before she could even say anything, the Captain Commander spoke up. "I am guessing this is about something you spoke with the Spirit Kings of?" He asked, sending her one of his kind smiles, which right now seemed almost omnipotent.

She stared at him with slightly widened eyes. "It is.." Was her baffled response. How could he guess it just like that? Well, he wasn't the Captain Commander for nothing… "Yes, they told me something else in there that I could only tell you and no one else." She told him. The two had very explicitly told her that right as she left.

He folded his arms behind his back lightly. "I see. That is very like it, indeed, to not just tell me outright." He mumbled to himself. "So, then, what is this message you were told to tell me?" He asked her, quickly breaking out of his own mumblings.

"There are others like me out there." She bluntly told him, crossing her arms in front of herself. "Of course, without any memories - that's just me." She explained.

He looked at her with slightly wide eyes. "Other's like you? With magic as well?" He asked her, clearly as surprised as she'd been.

She nodded. "They didn't tell me exactly how many, but a handful of people from our worlds have switched worlds upon their death - that's why they were in such a hurry to close the rift." She explained slowly. "Only one or maybe two were mages, so those guys will definitely have magic. As for the ones who were commoners… I have no clue." She said.

The Captain Commander breathed out slowly. "I understand why they did not want knowledge of this kind getting out…" He said.

She nodded. Yeah, with how magic could either break down or enhance reiatsu, it was a dangerous weapon to be sure. Power-hungry people of all kinds would go hunting for that handful of people in what was sure to become a bloodbath, only to use them as tools in any battles that may follow it.

Definitely not how she wanted her world's people to live their afterlife.

"Do you know if they're all at Hueco Mundo?" He then asked her, worried for their welfare just as she was.

She shook her head with a frown. "They didn't tell me anything about where they would be." She told him. "If it all went about the way my own death did then yes, they would all be in Hueco. But considering the nature of it all, I doubt it's all that predictable." She argued. With something like this, they couldn't say anything for sure.

He nodded slowly. "Of course." He agreed. "Say I find one of the Shinigami in my ranks might be from your world; what do I do with them?" He asked her, already appointing her as the mastermind of that selection of people.

She scratched her arm lightly. Another one of those things she wasn't quite sure how to deal with yet, but really should have a firm grasp on. "Well, it's probably unlikely they'll even pop up at all.. Forgetting how few they are, chances are they aren't even aware they have magic at all since they don't have any memories of it, and therefore won't be using it." She trailed off, not quite sure where to go from there with it.

Genryusai seemed to understand it nonetheless though. "So unless they have discovered or actively use their magic, I should just leave them be?" She asked, having drawn the conclusion from her few words.

She nodded lightly. "Yeah, I'd say that'd be for the best." She agreed. "Though, if they are aware of it, I think it would probably be the best if I take care of them myself - teach them how to use it properly and all that." She said. She didn't want to sound pretentious or anything, but she was literally the only one between Earth, Hueco Mundo _and_ Soul Society who could properly teach anyone anything about magic.

He quickly nodded, agreeing with her. "Yes, that would probably be for the best - so long as you guys don't plan to overthrow us." He seriously told her.

She whipped her now slightly annoyed attention to him. "I thought I already made it clear we aren't going to do any-"

She was cut off when the old man broke out into a fit of laughter so deep it could rival Zaraki's from earlier. "Oh, you should have seen your face, child." He said, calming down a little again as she just stared at him with wide eyes and her jaw drooping. "I was merely joking, no need to be so upset with me." He said, humor still in his voice and old eyes.

She sighed deeply, scratching the back of her head. "Damn. You got me there." She admitted with a light smile that she couldn't hide away. Fooled so easily by an old man like this.

He flashed her a bright smile. "Glad to hear I haven't lost my touch just yet." He continued to joke around. "Anyway, thank you for bringing this up, I'll keep it in the back of my mind going forward." He promised her.

She smiled at him. "Yeah, that sounds good." She replied with a nod. And thank you for a successful meeting in there. It went pretty well considering it was the first one and all." She added. She'd honestly expected some more resistance, but she wasn't complaining.

"Oh, that was not thanks to my efforts alone. You and yours take half the credit, then we'll take the other." He said.

She shook her head at him lightly. "Sure, then we'll do that." She said, slowly reaching out to Hueco Mundo with her reiatsu. "I'll look forward to the next one - see you around, Genryusai." She called out as she turned around and stepped into the newly-created Garganta.

A faint 'As will I' followed her as she went through the portal, opening it up right in the middle of the living-room of what had always been and would continue to be her and Grimmjow's wing.

The Garganta immediately closed behind her as she plopped down on the couch next to the man himself with a deep exhale. "It's exhausting to be the leader of a whole world." She told him, her mind more tired than anything else.

He snorted as he looked over at her. "That's your own fault - you were the one who chose to stay here out of all places." He reminded her.

"Mhm~" She hummed affirmatively as she fell down to rest her head in his lap, kicking her feet up as she smiled up at him. "And I don't regret it for one second."

* * *

 **Aaaaand there we go~**

 **Couldn't help just the tiniest bit of fluff there at the end - hope you enjoyed it all.**

 **So yeah, we got a short peek into how Lucy and Grimmjow's lives - along with the surviving Arrancar and the Shinigami Captains - will be, going forward.  
You all also likely noticed the ending is open as fuck - anything could basically happen. I even went and was so nice as to hint some of the things that **_**could**_ **happen.  
Hope that gets your mind spinning in all kinds of directions, just like mine is!**

 **Now, just because I know you guys will ask the question, I will answer it already. Will there be a sequel to this one? Maybe. Maybe not. It's certainly possible, but I'd also be entirely satisfied leaving it off at this.  
I know what you guys want, though. (Hint: More). But, eh… Yeah, can't say I can promise anything. **

**As always though, thank** _ **you**_ **for sticking through this roller-coaster of a story with me right till the end, you guys! Every kind of support you have shown me honestly has just warmed my heart and pushed me forward even when my worst nemesis* threatened me! So thank you so, so much! You guys really pushed through time and time again and helped me beat my nemesis* back time and time again. So keep it up however you can!  
(* alternatively known by the name 'Writer's Block')**

 **So, once again, I really do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!**

 **~Line464d**


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